Rashida Jones explains “Parks and Recreation” renaissance: 'Great things take a while to discover'

Nine years after the Emmy-nominated NBC sitcom went off the air, Jones remembers it fondly.

Rashida Jones would like to remind you that Parks and Recreation, now a beloved sitcom, was not always a thing.

"And it is, it’s nice, the rewriting [of history], but I'm like, 'But I need people to understand,'" Jones said on Tuesday's episode of the Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend podcast. "Because it's kind of iconic now, it's like one of those great comedies of that time, which is so awesome, but we didn't feel that way."

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She recalled that, about five years ago, there was a big turnout for an event to celebrate the show's big anniversary with the cast.

"I felt like the Beatles. It was so nuts," Jones said. "People were screaming so loud. We were all crying, cause we'd never been in a room where anybody cared we were there as a crew. It was so wild."

O'Brien noted that he'd seen the cast of SCTV have a similar experience.

Related: Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones have a mini Parks and Rec reunion: 'Ann and Leslie 4eva'

"Great things take a while to discover," Jones said.

In fact, Jones recalled that the NBC show, which aired for seven seasons, from 2009 to 2015, being in constant danger of cancelation.

The workplace comedy, done in the style of The Office, centered around the employees in charge of the parks in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. Jones played Ann Perkins, the adored best friend of Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope. Nick Offerman; Adam Scott; Chris Pratt; Aubrey Plaza; Retta; Rob Lowe; Aziz Ansari; and Jim O'Heir played her employees and friends. While it was the subject of raves from critics — earning 14 Emmy nominations, as an example — it was never a runaway hit in the ratings.

Related: Parks and Recreation cast: Where are they now?

"Every single season, we were like, this is it. They're not gonna want us back," Jones said. "At one point, we were canceled, and then the president of NBC got off the plane and changed his mind."

You wouldn't know that today, though. Nine years after it ended, the series regularly airs in reruns and continues to be the focus of merch galore, from T-shirts to coffee mugs, books, and stickers.

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