Parks & Rec: Every Character’s Role In Andy’s Johnny Karate Show

Andy Dwyer had an interesting journey in Parks and Recreation, going from semi-failed musician living in a pit, to shoe shiner, to having his own TV show. Andy never forgot about his friends and all those who helped him, and gave them a role in his TV show – and here are their roles and segments. Parks and Recreation was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur and debuted on NBC in 2009 and came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons and a lot of changes in the characters’ lives.

Parks and Recreation followed perky bureaucrat Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and coworkers from the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Their issues went beyond the walls of City Hall, so viewers also got a look at their personal lives and struggles. Out of the main group, the one who went through a lot of ups and downs in his professional life was Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), who didn’t really have a stable job until season 7, when he got his own TV show based on one of the alter-egos he created.

Named The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show, it was hosted by Andy as Johnny Karate and had his friends from City Hall as guests, most of them playing characters as well. Here’s what each Parks and Recreation character did in the Johnny Karate Show.

Leslie Knope as Herself

Of course, Leslie Knope had a place in the Johnny Karate Show as herself. Johnny had “Five Karate Moves to Success”, which were “make something”, “learn something”, “karate chop something”, “try something new”, and “being nice to someone”. Leslie’s segment was “try something new”, and in the final episode of the show, she turned it into a tribute to Andy and all he had accomplished, as Andy and April were moving to Washington D.C.

Ron Swanson as Carpenter Ron

Believe it or not, Ron Swanson agreed to be on a TV show not exactly as himself but as another version, still pretty close to how he really is. As Carpenter Ron, he took over the “make something” segment and tried to teach Andy how to build stuff. Ron made a shadow box frame as farewell gift for Johnny/Andy, but the latter ended up destroying it, much to Ron’s dismay (though at that point, he should have been used to Andy breaking everything he built).

Ben Wyatt as Professor Smartbrain

“Learn something” was led by Ben Wyatt, who throughout the series did his best to be Andy and April’s voice of reason and guide them through their chaotic lives. Ben turned into Professor Smartbrain, who spent his time in a laboratory and was regularly visited by Johnny. In the final episode of the show, Professor Smartbrain taught Johnny about geography, showing him how long it would take him to get to D.C. if he used a plane, a car, or a train. Sadly for Ben, Andy brought a “boring buzzer” with him and didn’t hesitate to press it whenever he felt Ben was being boring.

April Ludgate as Herself/April Karate

Andy obviously brought his wife April to the show, and gave her a chance to do something that fitted her interests: teaching kids about animals in “April’s Animal Corner”. The final episode of the Johnny Karate Show had April bringing a Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula and teaching kids about it – problem was, Johnny played hide and seek with the tarantula before the show began and couldn’t find it. The segment then changed to “Loose Animal in the Studio”, which happened too often as they had to run a very long disclaimer that Andy didn’t even read.

Garry Gergich as Mailman Barry

Perhaps the most popular guest character in the Johnny Karate Show was Mailman Barry, played by Garry Gergich (who by then had already regained his real name after going through many variations of it). Mailman Barry was often attacked by Johnny’s ninjas or Johnny himself, depending on what he felt like doing. In the farewell episode, Mailman Barry arrived to deliver hundreds of fan letters and one written by him to say goodbye to his good friend Johnny, but it was time for “karate chop something”, and so the ninjas appeared to karate chop poor Mailman Barry. Garry couldn’t catch a break even when playing a character, but that was part of one of the biggest gags in Parks & Recreation.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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