'Parks and Rec' cast created, shot fake TV show about Philadelphia lawyers

When envisioning a spinoff of NBC's upbeat, long-running sitcom "Parks and Recreation" — which was about a crew of quirky bureaucrats in Pawnee, Indiana — a legal drama based in Philly may not seem the most likely direction to take. But it's exactly what some of the show's stars had in mind.

"Parks and Rec" creator Michael Schur and stars — including Amy Poehler,  Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari — reunited for an interview with British publication the Independent to share behind-the-scenes tidbits from the making of the beloved sitcom in celebration of the 15th anniversary of its premiere.

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During the chat, Jones, who played Ann Perkins, a nurse and the best friend of parks deputy director Leslie Knope (Poehler), referred to her fond memories of recurring appearances by Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn. The duo played political rivals of Knope in Season 4. 

While some people may spend downtime at work surfing the internet or enjoying a snack, Jones, Poehler, Rudd, Hahn and Adam Scott (who played state auditor, and Knope's love interest, Ben Wyatt) used their time a bit more productively. They dreamed up a faux TV show about law clerks in Philadelphia, titled "Philly Justice," and actually made it happen.

Jones said: 

The season where we had Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn on was the absolute best. During our free time on set, we took a picture of me, Kathryn, Amy, Adam Scott and Rudd and we had this fantasy of being in like a Nineties, David Kelly-style procedural show called Philly Justice where we were all playing law clerks in Philadelphia. We became obsessed with it and so did the writers. They ended up writing it as an entire episode of a different show which we started to actually shoot. We shot 15 pages of a show that doesn’t exist with our free time.

This is not the first time "Philly Justice" lore has been shared by cast members.

In 2012, during a panel at TV showcase PaleyFest, Poehler and Schur shared details about the origins of "Philly Justice," which they said was set in 2003, and how complex it became.

"They were on set and they had someone take that picture, and they decided to pretend that they were all on a show called 'Philly Justice' about Philadelphia lawyers," Schur said. "It's difficult to explain to you how intricate this bit has gotten. ... They all have character names, character backstories."

Poehler and Schur shared that Scott was playing lawyer Nick Bellows, who went to Iraq after 9/11, and that Jones played lawyer Joey Suarez, who was working to stop gang violence. They even generated "Philly Justice" behind-the-scenes details, like the fact that Rudd didn't connect with producers and was replaced by Dylan McDermott ("The Practice") after the pilot. Poehler shared that Scott went so far as to create a fake email address for McDermott and would send emails from it posing as the actor to share his excitement to work on "Philly Justice" after Rudd's departure.

"It's a real promising show; it's on after 'Joan of Arcadia,'" Poehler joked, referring to a short-lived teen drama. "What's exciting is that they've already got 22 (episodes ordered)!"

Setting a legal drama or crime thriller in Philadelphia is certainly not a bad idea, as fans of recent entries like "How to Get Away With Murder" and "Mare of Easttown" can attest. With "How to Get Away With Murder" ending in 2020 after six seasons and no news on a potential Season 2 of "Mare" — although the show's creator Brad Ingelsby is filming a new crime drama "Task" and there's speculation the two series could connect — there's surely a gap in the market for a new locally based procedural ... especially a star-studded one like "Philly Justice." Just saying!