The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Dept. of Pawnee, Indiana. Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park. Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) and aided by charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider). Leslie hopes that she will also inspire her uninterested college intern April (Aubrey Plaza) and April's whole generation—all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.