Emmy-nominated comedy series ‘Parks and Recreation’ ended its fourth season on Thursday May 10, with an episode which revealed the long-awaited result in main character Leslie Knope’s election bid for city council.

The episode, titled “Win, Lose, or Draw”, was written and directed by series co-creator Michael Schur. The episode featured Leslie, played by Amy Poehler, waiting to hear if she had beat rival Bobby Newport, played by Paul Rudd, in an election storyline which had been running all season. The initial result showed that Bobby had won by a margin of 21 votes, however, after Leslie’s campaign manager – and love interest – Ben Wyatt, played by Adam Scott, demanded a recount, it was revealed that it was in fact Leslie who had won by 21 votes.

The result of the election had been top-secret since production wrapped on ‘Parks & Recreation’ several months ago. At a Paley Center event in March, Schur revealed that multiple endings had been filmed for the episode so that he could wait until the last moment to decide which ending to air. Poehler admitted to being a fan of both endings, telling the audience:

“It was really touching and moving to do both the acceptance and the concession speeches. Concession and acceptance speeches are about the same until the end. They thank everybody and talk a lot and say congratulations to the other guy … Having to talk to the cast, which were all my friends, and say thank you for this election year. I couldn’t do it without you, cue the waterworks factory.”

Leslie’s win in the season finale means several changes for the series in its fifth season. Until this season, the series had revolved primarily around Leslie’s duties as the Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, whereas now the series is expected to feature more storylines involving Leslie’s burgeoning political career.

Also undergoing some changes is Ben Wyatt, who accepted a job offer in the finale to run a congressional campaign in Washington for six months, effectively forcing Leslie and himself to attempt a long-distance relationship for at least some of next season, assuming that it does not skip entirely over those six months.

For the season, ‘Parks & Recreation’ averaged between 3-4 million viewers per week, but strong critical acclaim and consistent Emmy nominations have ensured its survival on the struggling NBC network. Earlier this month, both the series and Poehler won at The Comedy Awards for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress in TV, respectively, while the series was recently named as the recipient of the prestigious Peabody Award.

The article ‘Parks & Recreation’: The Election Result! appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

HBO renewed the hit show True Blood for a 12-episode fifth season in August and this week, details of two new characters emerged from the production team. Created by Alan Ball, the series will begin production of new episodes later this year in Los Angeles, and will debut on screen in the summer of 2012

“I am thrilled that True Blood continues to enjoy a phenomenal reception from both subscribers and critics,” noted Michael Lombardo, the president of HBO Programming.  “Alan Ball and his gifted team have devised the greatest thrill ride on TV.”

Mixing romance, suspense, mystery and humor, the Emmy-nominated show takes place at a time when vampires have come out of the coffin, and follows the on-and-off romance between waitress and part-faerie Sookie Stackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, who can hear people’s thoughts, and 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton, in the form of Stephen Moyer.

According to a press release, the series creator Alan Ball, who is also responsible for the creation of the Emmy-winning HBO series Six Feet Under, is also an executive producer of the show, which is based on the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris.

“I remain amazed and delighted by the enthusiasm of our viewers,” says Ball. “I can’t imagine having more fun than this.”

The 12-episode fourth season has inspired critical raves, with USA Today calling it “exuberantly entertaining,” as well as hailing the “superb crew of writers and actors,” while the Washington Post called the show “a rollicking good scream” and “addictive.” The season was wrapped up this week with a number of cliff-hangers and surprising exits, with Sookie tied up in the middle of everything.

Fans on Stuff.co.nz found the season finale a double-edged sword; “if you’re a Sookie fan, then chances are you’re pretty happy with how things ended last night. If you’re like Pam – and at least a portion of other viewers, like me – and you’re over Sookie, then chances are the finale didn’t increase your enthusiasm for next season.”

While waiting for next summer to pick up, Entertainment Weekly revealed details of the two new characters. One is a beautiful and intelligent woman named Nora who has a story with Eric and who will join the regular cast ensemble. The other is a new female vampire whom Aceshowbiz.com describes as “a powerful ancient vampire and a world-class seductress who’s also a little mad,” named Salome.

It is likely that we will see more new faces on the show as Ball has hinted to exciting new elements of spirits, freakish demons and more never-before-seen supernatural creatures.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/TrueBlood

The article True Blood Fifth Season Set to Welcome Two New Characters appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.