yes please(51)
24 Note from Mike: So was I. Probably not in the same way.
Season 3 found us fighting for our right to party. We had been pushed to midseason, which is usually not exactly a vote of confidence from the network. The story line was all about a government shutdown, so both Amy and Leslie were frustrated about not getting back to work. The whole time Mike kept reminding me to keep my head down and control the only thing I could, which was the work. Somehow we survived.
Season 4 was all about Leslie’s running for city council. The wonderful Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn joined us for a while. Leslie won. We all won. We soldiered on.
Seasons 5 and 6 were about the frustrations of Leslie Knope’s new job. They also were about Ben and Leslie finally getting married and pregnant. They dealt with Ann and Chris leaving, Andy and April trying to figure out what they wanted, Donna finding love, and Tom entering a new business venture. I forget what happened with Jerry.
We had Sam Elliott, Michelle Obama, and Ginuwine on our show.
I can’t believe we have done all these episodes and of course I can believe it because I always knew we would. (It’s a miracle.)
In season 5, Leslie kicks off the season by visiting Washington, DC. Her boyfriend, Ben, decides to surprise her by setting up a meeting with her ultimate crush, Vice President Joe Biden. We shot that scene with Vice President Biden in his ceremonial office on the grounds of the White House, and he was charming and funny and a true pro—he didn’t even flinch when Leslie slightly leaned in for a kiss. That’s some old-school improv commitment right there. While we were walking out of the building, we learned that our show, which had been talked about as a front-runner for winning the Emmy for best comedy, did not even get nominated. We were upset, because as we know, no matter how much you think you don’t want the pudding, once people start telling you that you might get the pudding it makes you want that pudding bad. Instead of being upset, Mike said, “I am going to go write the scene where Ben proposes to Leslie.” He went back to his hotel room and wrote this.
INT. LESLIE AND BEN’S NEW HOUSE—NEXT DAY—DAY 3
Leslie and Martha the real estate lady.
MARTHA
Anything I can do to change your mind?
LESLIE
Sadly, no. My boyfriend might not be able to move back for a while, so . . . I have to back out. I just wanted to look at it one more time.
MARTHA
I can’t give you your deposit back.
LESLIE
I know.
MARTHA
And there’s a three hundred dollar penalty for—
LESLIE
All right, Martha. I get it.
She moves around the apartment, sadly. Then turns around—
LESLIE (CONT’D)
Actually, is there any way—
Ben is standing there.
LESLIE (CONT’D)
What?! Hey! I didn’t know you were—
He gets down on one knee. Looks up at her. Takes her hand.
LESLIE (CONT’D)
Oh my God. What are you doing?
BEN
Thinking about my future.
He opens a ring box. Leslie GASPS.
BEN (CONT’D)
I am deeply, ridiculously in love with you. Above everything else, I want to be with you, forever. So, Leslie Knope, w—
LESLIE
Wait!!!!!
He freezes . . .
LESLIE (CONT’D)
Just . . . I need to remember this. Just wait a second. Please.
He does.
BEN
. . . Leslie Knope, w—
LESLIE
No no no—hang on. One second longer. Please. I have to remember everything. Every tiny little thing, about how perfect my life is, right now, at this exact moment.
She looks all around. Ben smiles. Waits.
BEN
You good?
LESLIE
I think I am good, yes.
BEN
So, I can . . . ?
LESLIE
Yes. I am ready.
BEN
Leslie Knope, will you—
LESLIE
Yes.
She attacks him and kisses him for a really long time.
BEN
—marry me. Okay good.
They kiss again.
He also wrote these vows in the wedding episode:
TOM
We are gathered here tonight to join Leslie Barbara Knope and Benjamin Walker Wyatt in matrimony. It’s been a long and winding road for these two, and they’re so impatient to begin their lives together, they moved their wedding date up by three months. So I say, let’s keep this short.
ANN
Hear, hear!
TOM
I assume—and hope—they have prepared their own vows. We’ll hear first from Ben.
BEN
In the ten years I worked for the state government, my job sent me to more than fifty cities. I lived in villages with eight people, rural farming communities, college towns—I was sent to every corner of Indiana. And then I came here. And I realized that this whole time, that’s what I was doing—I was just wandering around, everywhere, looking for you.
She smiles and collects herself.
LESLIE
Oh boy. Okay. The first draft of my vows—which I wrote the day after we got engaged—clocked in at around sixty pages. But I don’t have them with me right now.
There’s a collective sigh of relief from the congregation.
LESLIE (CONT’D)
Wait! Maybe I have a copy in my office—