Yesterday afternoon, Parks and Recreation fans got some bad news - both Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe are leaving halfway through season six. Showrunner and executive producer Mike Schur confirmed the news and discussed how the two are going to leave the show.
The news was first reported by several sites citing sources, as the network had yet to make it official. It is said that the two, who play Ann Perkins and Chris Traeger on the show, will be leaving the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana in the 13th episode.
“The news about Rob and Rashida is true -- they will be leaving the show after the 13th episode of the upcoming Season 6,” Shur said in a statement Tuesday night, reports The LA Times. “We've been working on their story line (on and off) for four seasons now, and heading into this year, with the two of them contemplating parenthood, it felt like a natural time to move them into the next phase.”
He added later that the crew “absolutely” loves the two actors and “we think we have a great Pawnee send-off in the works for them.”
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Shur after the TCA panel for Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and he further explained their departure. He said that the decision they make that leads to the departure “is made very early, so it’s a long fun kind of celebratory send-off. And it happens in the first episode after the premiere — the seeds start being planted.”
Shur also noted that Jones is going to be busy with a producing gig at Warner Bros. and has just sold a show idea to the studio. When asked if Jones or Lowe could appear in the show again in a special episode, Shur said, “Absolutely.”
Parks & Rec’s one-hour season premiere airs on Sept. 26.
image: NBC