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April Ludgate's Most Memorable Moments on Parks and Recreation
Aubrey Plaza's character went far after starting in the Pawnee, Indiana government as an intern.
Pawnee, Indiana's Parks and Recreation office made its way into audience's hearts when the show first premiered on NBC in 2009. And one character at the center of the team was their then-college intern, April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza).
Though April started out as a famously terrible intern and even worse assistant to Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), she ultimately proved herself to be a smart, confident leader in the department, and her relationship with Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) showed her softer side.
Revisit April's full character arc, from her best work moments to biggest romance wins.
Who played April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation?
April was played by Aubrey Plaza for the entirety of the 2009-2015 run of Parks and Recreation.
Three years before she took the role on the show, she was part of the NBC Page Program. She told Elle in 2017 that managers suggested she leave the program and she stole the uniform. She then accepted a low-level job in the casting department of NBC in New York, and wore the purloined uniform as an extra on the set of the sitcom 30 Rock.
Her most recent role was as Harper Spiller on Season 2 of White Lotus.
April Ludgate's Relationship with Leslie Knope
When audiences first met April, she was interning for the Parks and Rec department for college credit. In the very first episode of the series, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) brought April with her to investigate a ditch that Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) had complained about in a city forum.
RELATED: Parks and Rec's Leslie Knope and April Ludgate Reunited For Weekend Update on SNL
"Is this fun for you?" Ann asked April when she was told the intern would be documenting the meeting. "Yeah, it's so much fun," April replied in her monotone voice.
"Is this fun for you?" Ann asked April when she was told the intern would be documenting the meeting. "Yeah, it's so much fun," April replied in her monotone voice.
April Ludgate's Relationship with Ron Swanson
After working under Leslie, April moved into a role as the assistant to Ron, where she succeeded in helping him avoid work by intentionally missing calls and not scheduling meetings. This all came to a head in Season 2, Episode 21 ("94 Meetings"), when all of April's scheduled events landed on March 31st, which she had thought was a fake date. The team had to work together to field all of Ron's appointments for the day, and April left her job in distress.
Ron ended up going to the Ludgate household to comfort April, and his visit offered a peek into her family life: Her cheery parents called her "Zuzu" and had starkly opposite personalities from April and her younger sister.
April Ludgate's Relationship with Andy Dwyer
Andy, the office's resident shoe shiner and musician, was dating Ann for the first season of the show. After their breakup, he and April began hitting it off, and they attempted to get a drink together in Season 2, Episode 20 ("Summer Catalog"). April was turned away from the bar for being only 20 years old, which prompted Andy to ask Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) about what age was too young for him to date. Tom told him the rule was "half of your age plus seven," which meant April needed to be just a bit older, so Andy waited a while.
Before they officially began dating, Andy had a brief encounter with Ann where the two kissed, prompting April to hate Ann and shun Andy. In Season 3, Episode 2 ("Flu Season"), April returned from a trip to Venezuela and introduced her new boyfriend to the office, making Andy jealous. When she came down with the flu, she was placed under Ann's care and intentionally tormented the nurse. At the end of her hospital stay, April feigned being asleep while Andy visited her and kissed her on the cheek.
The couple's relationship was in full swing by the "Harvest Festival" (Season 3, Episode 7), when April said "I love you" to Andy. He replied, "Dude shut up, that is awesome sauce," and April spent the episode angry that he hadn't said "I love you" back. Finally, when his own oblivion was pointed out to him, Andy reassured April that he loved her and they returned to their "happy couple" status.
When did April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer get married?
After dating for a few weeks, in Season 3, Episode 9 ("Andy and April's Fancy Party"), the couple announced that they were throwing a party together and assigned everyone in the office a specific item to bring. In reality, the "party" was their surprise wedding.
"Remember how I told you there was going to be a surprise later? Well, the surprise is: You're not actually at a dinner party, you're at our wedding," Andy announced to the room. He wore his favorite football jersey and April wore a white dress and, despite Leslie's attempt to stop them, they happily married each other in front of all of their friends and family.
In her vows, April said, "I guess I kind of hate most things, but I never really seem to hate you. So I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Is that cool?"
April Ludgate at the End of Parks and Recreation
In later seasons, April proved to be actually incredibly talented in the career world. In Season 4, Episode 13 ("Bowling for Votes"), the team did a phone-a-thon to raise money for Leslie's city council campaign, and April raised the most of anyone. A montage of her phone calls from the night showed her impressively switching between various personalities in order to get donations from different constituents.
Her love for animals also became a centerpiece for her career; in Season 4, Episode 19 ("Live Ammo"), she filled in for Leslie in the Parks department and organized a pet adoption event for the town. In Season 5, Episode 22 ("Are You Better Off?") April revealed to Andy that she was accepted to a veterinary program in Bloomington, but she later declined admission because she realized it wasn't her passion.
April still wasn't feeling fulfilled by her Parks job, and in Season 7, Episode 8 ("Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington"), she told Leslie that she wanted to find a new career path. Leslie brought her to the American Service Foundation, which helps young people identify potential opportunities, and April decided she wanted to work at the Foundation.
April, Andy, Ben, and Leslie ended up moving to Washington D.C. together and, in a flash forward from the series finale ("One Last Ride"), April gave birth to their son, Jack, on Halloween. (Actually, he was born at 12:06 am on November 1st, but Andy convinced the doctor to legally change it to Halloween for April's sake.)
Watch all of April's greatest episodes by streaming Parks and Recreation on Peacock.
