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Piggybacking on the success of the American spinoff of The Office, NBC developed Parks and Recreation in 2009, one of America’s most beloved sitcoms to date. But as you know – unfortunately – all good things must come to an end (that is, until someone revives it – fingers crossed!). The half-hour single-camera series ran for 7 seasons on the network and aired its final episode titled “One Last Ride,” 3 years ago today on February 24, 2015. The 40-minute finale provided a comical yet emotional look into each of the main characters’ futures.

The episode takes place in 2017 as the notorious Parks and Recreation department gathers in their former office to say their goodbyes. “Can’t we just quickly shake hands, pretend we like each other, and get the hell out of here?,” asks April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza). Then enters a concerned parent who inquires about getting a broken swing fixed in his local park. In typical fashion, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) unites the gang to get a requisition form signed in order to get the swing fixed as their “last ride” as employees of Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation department.

Their journey with the government document takes them to Garry (who everyone refers to as Gerry) who is now the Mayor of Pawnee. Garry (Jim O’Heir) is able to get the form approved and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) proceeds to fix the swing. Before this happens, however, Leslie has a charged moment with each of the main characters as the show provides a flash forward into their futures.

First we get to see Donna’s (Retta) likely future, living the high life as a real estate superstar in 2023. We also get to see the futures of supporting actors like Craig (Billy Eichner), who moonlights as a lounge singer in 2019, and Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) who fakes his death in 2022 as an insurance scam.

April and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) are living in Washington D.C. in 2022 and are shown playing their personas Janet Snakehole & Bert Macklin on Halloween as they give out candy to the neighborhood kids. They are later seen having a baby of their own, with another one on the way shortly thereafter.

Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), now in a relationship with Lucy (Natalie Morales), opens up his own restaurant aptly named Tom’s Bistro with Ron Swanson, Ben & Donna (via Skype) serving as his personal business advisers. Using his business’ ultimate failure, he ends up writing a successful book about failure.

Garry is seen elected mayor 10 terms in a row and ends up living to 100 years old, surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Ron Swanson leaves his job as chairman of Very Good Building & Development in 2022, invests in the distillery he had visited in Scotland, and lives out his dream of working outdoors by running the federal national park that Leslie establishes near Pawnee.

And finally, Leslie & Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) are living happily in Washington D.C. with their children where Ben plugs his latest game Cones of Dunshire: Winds of Tremorrah. The duo are seen at a social gathering with Joe Biden in 2025 where both of them are approached to run for Governor of Indiana and must decide who will be the candidate. The gang reunites at the old Parks and Rec office to celebrate Leslie’s return to the city, where Ben ultimately decides that Leslie should be the one to run for Governor.

The episode comes to a close with Leslie Knope giving a speech at Indiana University in 2025 as they dedicate their campus library to her. Meanwhile, back in 2017, the group takes one last photo together as Leslie declares that she’s ready for the next chapter of her life. The emotional trip down future-lane was an excellent, wholehearted way to bring such a brilliant show to an end. While the cherished sitcom is surely missed, don’t forget that you can currently stream all 7 seasons on both Netflix and Hulu for some quality nostalgia.

Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor

WHERE TO STREAM PARKS AND RECREATION