NBC’s Parks and Recreation is currently airing its final season, with fans of the series getting a chance to say good-bye to all of their favorite characters as the show wraps up its seven-season run. Episodes of the half-hour comedy are airing back-to-back on Tuesdays nights at 8pm ET/PT, and as the show heads toward its final episode on February 24, 2015 I had the opportunity to briefly chat with Retta who plays Donna Meagle on the award-winning show.
Sitting down at the Television Critics Association winter press event, Retta talked about playing Donna for seven seasons and what it was like on the final day of shooting.
Retta Exclusive Parks and Recreation Interview
How did you feel on the last day?
Retta: “It was tough. I mean, we were busy, busy, busy, but any moment that we had downtime you still feeling the weight of not coming back. Because when you’re working, we’re still trying to put out good material but it was during the times when it was somebody else’s coverage and you’re watching from the monitors. We’d all watch all the other scenes, so it was hard.”
Do you feel like your material is as funny this season as it has been in the previous seasons?
Retta: “Yeah. I feel like – believe it or not we got to know a little bit more about Donna, so I feel like I got to show more of her, other sides of her that you may have heard about but didn’t see.”
Was there a point when you realized Donna was becoming more of a main character?
Retta: “I think ‘treat yourself’ was my first thing where I was a part of a storyline. I never thought she wasn’t a main character. By season three, I felt like we were all in it together. I thought people were just as interested in Donna [as the other characters].”
What are some things you think the writers picked up on from you that they wrote into the scripts?
Retta: “Mike Schur emailed me and said, ‘I have something for you in the next episode,’ and it was in season six – or season five – when I got to live tweet. And then when I got to sing for Leslie and Ben’s wedding because they knew I could sing. They’re like, ‘Oh, well we’ll have Donna sing at the wedding.’ And the fact that I love boys…’ So, Donna’s going to be a man whore.'”
Has Parks and Recreation opened a lot of doors for future work?
Retta: “Well Parks has definitely given me a lot of visibility so I get to take meetings. I’ve taken a lot of meetings and hopefully, those will lead to my next gig.”
