‘Parks And Recreations’ Season 5 Spoilers: Cast Includes Jonathan Banks, Glenne Headly And Ben Schwartz
NBC comedy "Parks and Recreation" will premiere its fourth season on Sept. 20 with all of the beloved citizens of Pawnee returning.
Ben Schwartz will be returning to the program as the wanna-be socialite Jean-Ralphio, along with Jonathan Banks -- best known as Mike on "Breaking Bad" -- and Glenne Headly will make their first appearances in the Amy Poehler-led sitcom.
Series showrunner Mike Schur has referred to Schwartz's character as "the world's worst human being."
Ralphio, who formerly ran a entertainment business with Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), called Entertainment 720, and invested with Tom in the Snakehole Lounge nightclub, will once again try his luck with Ansari's character in the fifth season of "Parks and Rec," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"Tom as the beginning of the season is struggling a bit because he hasn't had any good entrepreneurial ideas in a while and he's running short on cash and he strikes what could be the first ever actually legitimate business idea that he has ever had," Schur told the Hollywood Reporter. "He invites Jean-Ralphio into the mix to be his business partner again."
Even though Ralphio has two thumbs and was just cleared from insurance fraud, his and Haverford's business venture haven't been successful so far, but this is a new season. "There's an arc that starts around Episode 5 for Tom where he's trying to start a new business but he's grown up a bit and has learned from his mistakes in the past so it's about him trying to turn over a new leaf and take what he thinks is actually a good idea for once and turn it into a legitimate business," the showrunner told Hollywood Reporter.
Hopefully Jean-Ralphio's new investment works out for him, because by the time he's 50-years-old, he plans to be a billionaire in Costa Rica. "Eatin' dolphin and hangin' out with lady singers," as Jean-Ralphio puts it.
In the upcoming season of "Parks and Rec," Pawnee newcomer Banks will play the role of Ben Wyatt's (Adam Scott) father Steve, and Headly will play his mother Julia. Banks is best known for his role on "Breaking Bad" as Mike, the fixer of the meth operation (SPOILERS) who was recently killed off by the show's anti-hero Walter White (Bryan Cranston).
"We were working the character description of Ben's dad," explained Schur according to HitFix, "and I said aloud, 'He should act like Mike Ehrmentraut.' So somebody said, 'Well, why can't we just get Jonathan Banks?'"
HitFix notes that Schur and the rest of the "Parks and Rec" writers are "huge" fans of "Breaking Bad." The publications claims that Schur said "[Banks is] the actor about which we've spent the most time talking in the room over the last year. It's awesome. He's going to be here at 2 p.m. today and everyone's geeking out. A lot of the writers are coming up with reasons to be down on the set today."
TV Guide gave some insight on Ben's mom in its plot synopsis for the episode.
"Julia is described as a warm and charming woman who appreciates art and literature, but who also has a bit of a dark side when provoked," writes the TV news source. "While Leslie (Amy Poehler) makes a good impression, Julia won't necessarily be in a good mood when Ben's father."
Hollywood Reporter reported that Jean-Ralphio is slated to return for the Nov. 1 episode. The episode scheduled for that date is also the sixth episode of the season, titled "Ben's Parents," which HitFix says Banks and Headly will appear in.
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