Aziz Ansari

CHICAGO – Amy Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation” had the serious problem of trying to find an audience on NBC during the destruction of the network by “The Jay Leno Show.” Debuting in April of 2009, it struggled to find a following and then barely hung around through the disastrous times at NBC during the 2009-10 season. To everyone’s surprise, it was renewed and will return on a revamped Thursday night lineup in January. To try and ignite interest in the show one more time, Universal has released the second season of this better-than-average show.

CHICAGO – Improving with every episode of its short first season, now available on DVD, “Parks and Recreation” returns tonight with the best episode of comedy in tonight’s much-hyped cavalcade of premieres. Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, and the rest of the cast and writers of “Parks and Recreation” are doing everything they can to turn their comedy into the next NBC must-see show. Do your part and tune in.

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(L to R) Seth Rogen as Ira, writer/director/producer Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler as George.

CHICAGO – This 30-image slideshow contains the official press images for “Funny People,” starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, RZA, Aubrey Plaza, and Aziz Ansari. It was written and directed by Judd Apatow. The film opens on July 31st, 2009.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The Emmy Award-winning team behind NBC’s massively successful “The Office” returns to the mockumentary format with the similar “Parks and Recreation,” an effective comedy starring Amy Poehler of “Saturday Night Live,” Rashida Jones (“I Love You, Man”), Aziz Ansari (“Observe and Report”), and Paul Schneider (“Lars & the Real Girl”).