Rob Lowe Reveals How Parks and Recreation Cast Stays in Touch

Rob Lowe literally couldn't love the Parks and Recreation cast any more. 

That's why, nearly 10 years after the hit sitcom ended, he continues to stay in touch with castmates like Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, and more.

"Everybody on that show was always just consistently amazing," Rob explained to E! News in an exclusive interview. "Ensembles can be tricky and that ensemble was heaven on Earth and remains."

As for what their reunions look like these days? 

"I'm playing golf with Pratt next week," he gushed. "I saw Amy at my 60th and she looks better than ever and is always great. I just saw Nick two weeks ago."

And while the Parks and Recreation cast became great friends through the series, Rob—who played fitness guru Chris Traeger in the mockumentary sitcom for five seasons—initially entered the show without any intention of staying on for long. 

"I originally came on to do six episodes," The 60-year-old, who joined the show in season two with Adam Scott and ended up staying on until season six, explained. "Mike Schur, Amy, and me were going, ‘How do we feel about this? Do we do more or was this good?'"

The moment West Wing alum realized he was in it for the long haul can be traced back to the fan-favorite season three episode in which his character, Leslie (Amy) and April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) are all hospitalized with the flu. 

"It's probably my favorite Parks and Rec episode," Rob shared. "We were approaching the sixth episode and I had a scene where I was looking in the mirror and I ad libbed ‘Stop pooping.' And I kind of knew at that moment that this was a good thing. There's more to be done here. I will always remember that episode. I think that's the moment where the character really came to life for me."

And he still remembers the magical day on set fondly. 

"I could hear them laughing and there's nothing in life more satisfying than making someone you respect as a comedian laugh," he noted. "To get Amy to laugh, to get Nick to laugh was the ultimate joy. That's why doing that show never felt like work, ever. It felt like we got together, hung out, made each other laugh and went home and then got to watch it on TV."

Naturally, Rob has taken that mentality to his latest venture, as he stars alongside his son John Owen Lowe in Netflix's Unstable—where the duo, who also co-created the series, play father and son. 

However, as Rob recently learned through an Ancestry DNA test that proved his "off-the-charts" competitiveness, he isn't so unlike his biotech genius character Ellis. In fact, he revealed that he and John Owen will get to show off their competitive spirit in a tennis match episode that John Owen wrote for the show's second season. 

"I would say almost everything in it is either a literal recreation," Rob teased. "Or takes a little germ of something that he thinks happened and then he's blown it sky high."

The second season of Unstable hits Netflix August 1. 

In the meantime, keep reading to see where Rob's character—and everyone else—ended up at the end of Parks and Recreation.

Leslie and Ben moved to Washington D.C. where she became the Deputy Director of Operations at the Department of Interior, which is her current job as of 2020. In 2025, she'll run for Governor of Indiana and win, serving two terms. By 2048, either she or Ben may or may not be the President of the United States.

Ben ran for congress in 2018 and won, and either he or Leslie may or may not be POTUS in 2048, but we may never know. 

For now, Ron is still running the Very Good Building company and raising his family with Diane (Lucy Lawless), but in 2022, he'll resign as chairman and become superintendent of the Pawnee National Park. 

April got a job in Washington D.C. at the American Service Foundation, helping people find jobs. In 2023, Janet Snakehole and Burt Macklin are still going strong, and even deciding to have children. Their first kid, Burt Snakehole Ludgate Karate Dracula Macklin Demon Jack-o-Lantern Dwyer (Jack Dwyer for short) will be born on Halloween 2023. April is pregnant again in 2025. 

Andy followed his wife to Washington D.C., but before that, he was hosting a Johnny Karate TV show. Baby Jack's full name is his idea. 

Donna (Retta) moved to Seattle and became a successful real estate agent after marrying school teacher Joe (Keegan Michael Key), and together they take many luxurious trips. In 2023, she and April will establish a program for after school education for teachers like Joe.  

Jerry, whose name was Garry all along, became the actual mayor of Pawnee after a stint as interim mayor. He'll remain the mayor for decades, and he'll happily celebrate his 100th birthday with his huge extended family in 2048 before dying in his sleep that night in 2048.

Tom married Lucy (Natalie Morales) and tried to franchise Tom's Bistro, but ended up losing everything because "the stock market tanked, credit dried up" and the country ran out of beef! But then he'll write two self-help books about failure and become a massive success. 

Ann decided to raise her son away from Pawnee, so she and Chris moved to Michigan before the final season of the series. They return for a Parks dept. reunion in 2025 with their son Oliver and their daughter Leslie. 

Chris moved with Ann to Michigan to work at the University of Michigan before the final season, but they return in 2025 for a reunion, where Chris announces they will be returning to Indiana where he will be Director of Admissions at Indiana University. 

Jean-Ralphio was up to his usual scams in 2017, pretending to be disabled to skip the line at Six Flags. In 2022, he'll fake his death for insurance money with his sister Mona Lisa by his side, and then they will be caught immediately. 

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