Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler are both very popular comedian actresses. Plaza and Poehler first met when they were both cast in the iconic television show Parks & Recreation in 2009. The show was Plaza’s breakout role, and since its end in 2015, she has gone on to star in productions like The White Lotus, Legion, and Child’s Play. Poehler, on the other hand, was already a big name in comedy when she was cast as the lead of Parks & Recreation. Before the show, Poehler was a cast member on Saturday Night Live.

When Parks & Recreation began airing, the show was a big success and so was Poehler and Plaza’s friendship. They hit it off immediately, and after going through the process of filming a television show together for six years, they were bonded for life. Here is the truth about Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler’s relationship.

Related: The 8 Funniest Parks And Recreation Bloopers

8 Are Aubrey Plaza And Amy Poehler Close Friends?

Aubrey Plaza is spotted at the 2022 ESPY Awards
via Instar

Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler first met in 2008 when they were both cast in the iconic comedy show Parks & Recreation. The show began airing in 2009 and ended in 2015. Plaza was cast as April Ludgate, which was her breakout role. Poehler, who was previously married to Will Arnett, played the lead of the show, though she had already found success with Saturday Night Live for several years before Parks & Recreation. Once on set, it was clear Poehler and Plaza were bonded for life.

Their close friendship was clear to everyone once they began doing press events for the comedy show. Plaza and Poehler were always by each other’s sides at red carpet events. Photos of them together from the era of Parks & Recreation really shows how close Plaza and Poehler are.

7 Who Is Amy Poehler’s Best Friend?

Though Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler are very close friends, Poehler has another very famous best friend. Poehler and Tina Fey’s friendship goes way back, all the way to 1992. The friends first met in Chicago when they both joined the same improv class. When Fey joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1997, she immediately began recruiting Poehler to join the comedy skit show. Poehler finally caved and joined the cast in 2001, and the two were the first female-led co-anchors for the ‘weekend update.’

Poehler and Fey love working together. When Fey wrote the 2004 film Mean Girls, Poehler was a part of the production. They co-starred in the 2008 film Baby Mama and the 2015 film The Nest. Poehler and Fey went on to host the Golden Globes together twice.

6 Amy Poehler And Aubrey Plaza On Parks & Recreation

Parks & Recreation was a big hit for NBC network. The show first premiered in 2009 and came to a close after seven highly successful seasons in 2015. The show followed the employees of the Parks and Recreation office in Pawnee, Indiana. Other than Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza, the show also stars Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Chris Pratt, and more. The show kick-started many careers, specifically Chris Pratt. When Pratt married Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019, Plaza said she was “lucky” to have landed a man like the Guardians of the Galaxy actor.

In Parks & Recreation, Plaza played April Ludgate. She was paired with Chris Pratt’s Andy Dwyer as they played a couple for most of the sitcom. Fans loved their dynamic on the show. Poehler played the lead of the comedy show, Leslie Knope. Her character eventually dated Adam Scott’s Ben Wyatt after he joined the cast at the end of season 2.

Related: What President Joe Biden Really Thought About Working With Amy Poehler On Parks And Rec

5 Amy Poehler And Aubrey Plaza Bond Off-Screen

Aubrey Plaza and Amy Poehler friends
Via Instagram

When working on a television show, the cast of the show spend many long hours together. The process can be quite grueling, especially if it goes on for seven seasons like Parks and Recreation did. Bonding with castmates is the best way to get through the work, and Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza certainly did just that.

While the cast enjoyed filming Parks & Recreation, they had even more fun behind the scenes. When the cameras were not rolling, Poehler and Plaza enjoyed spending time together. They once went to a softball game together with Poehler’s son. The two actresses are close and took fame in stride, even snuggling and making out once to mess with paparazzi.

4 What Are Aubrey Plaza’s Health Conditions?

Aubrey Plaza wearing a red dress
Via Instar

Fans know Aubrey Plaza as the hilarious actress and comedian that she is. Other than Parks & Recreation, Plaza has worked on many projects including most recently HBO’s White Lotus. She works very hard at every role, but behind the scenes, Plaza has had to fight a completely different type of battle.

When Plaza was just 20 years old, she suffered from a stroke. The health scare occurred due to a blood clot in her brain. She suffered from temporary paralysis and temporary expressive aphasia, making it difficult to communicate. “I could understand what’s happening, but I couldn’t talk or communicate,” she told The Guardian in 2016. “Like, you could say something, and I would know what you meant, but I couldn’t express it or even write it.” While filming Parks & Recreation, Plaza also suffered from a transient ischemic attack, which is a temporary period of experiencing the symptoms of a stroke.

3 Amy Poehler And Aubrey Plaza’s Galentine’s Day Reunion

After Parks & Recreation ended in 2015, fans could not imagine a world without seeing their favorite characters and cast members all together on the small screen. Thankfully, the cast of the comedy show agreed. After creating such close friendships during filming, the cast have continued to see each other, specifically on Galentine’s Day.

Galentine’s Day is the day before Valentine’s Day, during which females hang out with their friends as opposed to their significant others. The holiday was made popular on Parks & Recreation, and the cast have carried on the tradition from the show. In 2020, Aubrey Plaza gathered with Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, and Kathryn Hahn to celebrate. Plaza shared a picture from the mini-reunion on her Instagram.

Related: The Real Reason Aubrey Plaza Kept Getting Fired During Her Early Acting Days

2 Parks & Recreation Special Reunion

Parks and Recreation Reunion Special
Via NBC

The mini-reunion on Galentine’s Day in 2020 was not the only special event for the Parks & Recreation cast that year. In recent years, reunion specials have become very popular. The cast of Friends gathered to discuss and look back on the iconic show from the 1990s, as did the cast of the film franchise Harry Potter. While those specials were cast discussions, Parks & Recreation had a different idea for their reunion.

The “Parks & Recreation Special” aired on NBC on April 30th, 2020. The special is a whole new episode of the series, featuring the original cast reprising their iconic roles. The episode is set during the pandemic and highlights how the characters are handling global epidemic. It also served as a fundraiser for Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund.

1 Amy Poehler And Aubrey Plaza Reunite On SNL

It has been nearly three years since the Parks & Recreation special reunion and almost eight years since the show originally came to an end, but the cast of the sitcom are still acknowledging where they came from and the friendships they made. Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza are still as close as ever, and this past weekend they surprised fans by reuniting on Saturday Night Live.

During the January 28th, 2023 episode of Saturday Night Live, Poehler and Plaza were both on set together. Plaza made her hosting debut in the episode and was involved in several skits throughout the show. She reprised her Parks & Recreation role during the “weekend update,” and fans rejoiced when Poehler joined her. Poehler previously hosted the segment during her days on Saturday Night Live.