'Parks and Rec' stars, creator discuss tonight's big wedding episode

Credit: NBC

Tonight's episode of NBC's 'Parks and Recreation' features the much-anticipated wedding between Ben (Adam Scott) and Leslie (Amy Poehler). The two stars, along with writer/creator Mike Schur, participated in a conference call to discuss the episode, along with how the romance has progressed throughout the series.

On the details of the wedding:

Mike Schur: There are a lot of details about the wedding. It’s kind of an interesting - it’s kind of a big episode. But I’ll say that everybody has a job to fill, of the main cast. Part of the fun of the episode is that the wedding was originally planned for May, and at this black tie gala that happened in last week’s episode they decide to do it that night.

So they basically have two hours to throw it together. So everybody kind of has a role to play and Tom Haverford becomes the officiant and has to get, like, ordained online in like an hour. And Donna plays a role and...we, for the first time, are going to feature her beautiful and professionally trained singing voice on the show a couple times. ... It’s very beautiful. We let her pick which aria she wanted to perform, so that was fun.

And ... what’s really nice about it is basically in the opening moments of the episode, in order to pull this thing off in sort of claustrophobic 'Parks and Rec' fashion, everyone has to sort of chip in. So there’s a part for everybody to play.

Credit: Tyler Golden/NBC

On the challenges ahead for Ben and Leslie:

Amy Poehler: What I love about 'Parks' is that, you know, if you care about this couple, you’ve got to see over the past couple years so much change happen with them, and it’s really satisfying the show hasn’t killed us with low expectation and will they/won’t they -- which I love. And I love that 'Parks' continues to, like, let characters change and like actually have things happen ... like what happens in the real world. So that part is satisfying because I know that Mike and the writers always kind of write and then just try to figure what’s going to happen later. And so then I would pass that over to Mike as to what’s next.

Mike Schur: I would say that part of the joy of the two characters and their relationship is that they have three-dimensional lives and they’re both very committed not only to each other but their careers and to their friends and to the just, you know, living a sort of full life. And it’s, you know, I think that maybe if there’s a trap that you can fall into, it’s that you have to just tell the story repeatedly just about the relationship - and that can get kind of boring. But we don’t have that problem.

In fact in the second episode -- there’s two episodes airing on Thursday. The wedding episode is at 8:30 and at 9:00 it’s just another episode. And that episode -- the cold open of that episode -- is Leslie and Ben coming back from their honeymoon and just sort of talking about how much fun they had on their honeymoon. But the episode is just a regular episode of 'Parks and Rec', and Leslie and Ben aren’t in the same story. Ben is starting a new job and it’s his first day at work and it’s like he’s sort of thrown into this new challenge of his new job. And Leslie has an event that she’s planning for -- which is sort of like a correspondents’ dinner type of event where the media and politicians roast each other and stuff.

And so I think you’ll see right away that there’s a sort of blueprint going forward where, you know, yes they’re married now but, you know, they also have other aspects of their lives that are very important to them. And so I hope, and very much feel, like that will be the thing that keeps it from seeming like the -- quote -- magic is gone -- end quote -- because it’s not that their lives have never been about each other.

That’s a huge part of their lives and they love each other and they have a wonderful relationship and hopefully a great marriage going forward. But there’s a lot of other stuff going on and I think you’ll see that in the 9 o’clock episode.

Adam Scott: Yes also I’ll just say that I recently went back and watched the “The Master Plan” -- which is the first episode Rob Lowe and I were on -- and...looking at Leslie and Ben at our first couple of scenes together, it really speaks to the quality of writing of this show that there’s a lot of ... foreshadowing of their relationship, in the sense that these are two kind of three-dimensional characters that really sort of fit together, and they see things in each other that no one else really sees and kind of hit these buttons with each other right off the bat.

And so I think that, you know, there’s just more to it. From the very start there was more to it than a simple 'will they or won’t they' kind of a device like that. And so I think that them being married now just sort of fits in naturally with that. It’s not like there’s anything to be lost by them joining together permanently, you know.

On how much Adam Scott knew about how far his romance storyline with Leslie would go when he was first cast:

Adam Scott: I mean I didn’t know. You know, we thought it might be ... Leslie and Ben might be a couple at some point. But I think it was sort of a wait-and-see sort of thing. Because, you know, we got together and didn’t quite click as a relationship. I mean, you know, I guess this is more a question for Mike. But I sort of got the sense that we’re going to - you know, they were going to try that out and just see if it works. And if it didn’t, maybe find something else for me to do. I’m not really sure. But I don’t know. Mike, I guess that’s more a question for you because I don’t really totally know.

Mike Schur: Well certainly the plan was always that this was a love interest, and a long-term love interest. And our initial idea for Leslie was that she was going to have a series of relationships with different men -- different kinds of men -- over the course of the show and that she would sort of learn something different from each of them.

And that’s why ... she learned a little something from Mark Brendanawicz. She learned something from Louis C.K.’s character. She learned something from Justin Theroux. And we were sort of like "Oh Adam Scott, that’s good. She’ll date him for a while and she’ll learn something about herself from him." And it was certainly the plan to have him be a love interest. And what happened very quickly was -- in that “Master Plan” episode they have a conversation in a bar. And I wrote this thing where Ben says to her very casually, “Like you want to run for office some day, right?” and she says, “Yes, how did you know?”

And he just sort of blows past it and the idea was like he’s just kind of got her number, like he just kind of gets her, he understands her and who she is and what her goals are. And in the second episode that we had -- which was the finale that year -- called “Freddy Spaghetti” -- they have a conversation and Leslie smiled at him and walks off, and there’s a shot of Adam looking after Leslie with a smile on his face. And as soon as I saw that, I kind of realized that not only were they going to get together, but they were never going to break up. Like it became very clear in that moment that this was it.

And it just ... it’s that sort of indescribable thing you can’t really put your finger on, but when you see two actors inhabiting roles and interacting with each other, and they just sort of make sense...I remember like in the discussions before Season 3 going..."Alright, well this season is going to end with Leslie and Ben, like, dating very seriously and thinking about getting married. So we better figure out how that’s going to go."

So it was certainly the plan early on and then that plan was solidified as soon as Adam showed up and started acting -- which by the way, for the record, I think you’re very good, Adam. I think you’re a very good actor.

Amy Poehler: Yes.

Mike Schur: Don’t you agree, Amy? I think he’s quite good.

Amy Poehler: Yes.

Mike Schur: Yes.

Amy Poehler: Sure!

Credit: NBC

On whether Amy and Adam have started to feel like an old married couple:

Amy Poehler: Well no. I think we like - I mean I think we - how do I answer this? ... I think what’s so cool about getting to work with Adam and getting to act with him is that I always get surprised and I’m always challenged and it’s always really interesting. It feels very alive and very young. So ... we’ve been working together for a long time but it certainly doesn’t - nothing about it feels old.

But I do feel like we know each other ... and I feel like we - you know, we acted on another project together recently -- a film that Adam did and produced and is the star of called 'ACOD'. And when we were working on that, it was really, really nice because we would just get on set and we would just really - it was really nice to be together on set because we were so used to working together all the time.

So we kind of know each other’s rhythms ... and we’re comfortable with each other -- which is half the battle sometimes when you’re working -- especially in comedy. So I feel like we do know each other’s rhythms and everything but I feel like we’re not quite at the point yet where we’re old and married.

Adam Scott: Yes, I mean I just realized the other day that Rob and I came on this show three - well not quite but almost three years ago -- three calendar years -- which is crazy because it’s gone by really fast. But I do know that I mean, you know, working on the show is always just such a job and genuinely just a privilege. It’s just such a great, great job.

But, you know, whenever Amy and I have scenes together I’m palpably excited that I get to do that. You know, it’s really just so much fun. So I think 'old married couple' -- it’s not quite the right thing because it’s just such a terrific thing to get to do, you know.

Credit: Danny Feld/NBC

On Adam and Amy's favorite moment from Ben and Leslie's relationship:

Amy Poehler: I thought the proposal was so beautifully written. And because I remember us walking into Joe Biden’s office and Schur talking about how he was going back to his hotel room to write the proposal. So I remember knowing when he was writing it and then getting it and nobody changed a word.

And I remember that day feeling very special because it was the three of us on set, and Dean Holland, our director, and it just felt like a long time coming -- which was really nice. I think everybody was really happy for the characters and it was a great example of Mike’s writing -- which is always a combination of really sweet and heartfelt, and it felt very earned but also just very funny.

And there’s a lot of that in the wedding episode. There’s a moment in the wedding episode that’s so, to me, the perfect example of ... a really beautiful and sweet moment. Just hard laughs, and those sharp turns are so hard to do, I think. And I think Mike does them so well. So I would say that scene.

Adam Scott: Yes I would probably say the wedding just because it’s really something. And being there for it, you know -- it really felt like we were at a real wedding. I mean, I think all of us, the whole cast was there. We were all there and it just felt ... it was a very special evening, you know. It was at night and we were all there in this wedding and it’s make-believe but ... we were all very moved and it was really something.

I would also go back to the episode called “Road Trip” where Leslie and Ben kind of - it’s kind of where everything culminates, and they have their first kiss at the end of the episode. And I thought that the episode was really well written and directed and the tension ... leading up to their first sort of scandalous kiss in private, I thought was ... really, really fun to do. ... And it’s one of my favorite episodes to watch as well, really funny. And like Amy was saying, the kiss that happens at the end of the episode is so earned, and I just love that one as well. I think that’s one of my favorites. And the proposal is lovely and really funny as well.

Mike Schur: Yes I would I think those are the three I would pick. I mean after the wedding airs I’ll probably - I would probably say the wedding. But I like the proposal the most of the things that have actually aired, I think because I’m of the belief that the most powerful weapon that we have in TV these days after 60 years of sitcoms is surprise.

And that has been our goal with every relationship really, and with every even non-romantic story we’ve told on the show, is we just try to always be surprising to the audience. And that was the idea. ... We’re not going to have the proposal come in a season premiere or in, you know, November sweeps or, you know, Christmas or whatever. We’re going to do it at a time where it just feels natural and right and it kind of takes people by surprise.

So that was the plan with the proposal and I think it worked. And it also has led to this very nice thing about Leslie and Ben’s relationship -- which is that they are constantly sort of surprising each other -- which is a very romantic idea, I think. And that was actually talked about in the wedding episode in the vows that they exchange. ... Leslie talks about that notion of being of how romantic it is and how nice it is to constantly be surprised by someone.

Credit: NBC

On how Parks and Recreation has evolved from when Amy first signed on to do the show:

Amy Poehler: Oh it’s surpassed my wildest expectation of how good it could be ... honestly. It ... just keeps getting better, and a more richer experience certainly, for me as an actor to do.

And then the people - I mean you spend a lot of time when you’re doing a TV show -- single camera TV show -- you spend a lot of time with the people that you’re working with. It’s like your second family. And I can’t imagine working on a show where you didn’t love the people you worked with, that you’ve spent so much time with. And I mean ... honestly, this show ... in many ways ... saved my life, enriched my life in all these different ways. It’s truly like a job that I’ll never have again, I feel.

So I’m very grateful for it, every minute. The fact that I get to be on something with the best cast in television and film - f*** it. Best cast ever. The best comedic and dramatic cast, television or film, that’s what I get to work with every day.

"Ben and Leslie" and "Correspondents' Dinner", the hour-long 'Parks and Recreation' bloc, airs tonight at 8:30 on NBC.

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