"Li'l Sebastian" | |
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Parks and Recreation episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 16 |
Directed by | Dean Holland |
Written by | Daniel J. Goor |
Original air date | May 19, 2011 |
Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Li'l Sebastian" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the third season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 46th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 19, 2011. In the episode, as the parks department prepares a funeral for Pawnee's famous miniature horse Li'l Sebastian, Leslie and Ben struggle to keep their workplace romance a secret. The episode was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by Dean Holland.
"Li'l Sebastian", which originally aired back-to-back along with "The Bubble", ended with several major developments. These included Leslie being approached to run for political office, and Tom's decision to quit his job to run an entertainment company. The exact outcome of the newly introduced storylines had not yet been determined when the episode first aired. The writing staff considered killing off a human character instead of Li'l Sebastian, but decided against it. Series co-creator Michael Schur called the episode's final scene, which was filmed in the completely white, 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) office of Tom's entertainment company, "maybe the craziest thing that's ever been on our series."
The episode featured guest appearances by Megan Mullally as Ron's ex-wife Tammy, Ben Schwartz as Tom's friend Jean-Ralphio and retired basketball player Detlef Schrempf as himself. "Li'l Sebastian" received critical acclaim and, according to Nielsen Media Research, was seen by an estimated 3.72 million household viewers. Combined with an estimated 4.27 million household viewers with "The Bubble,"the two episodes' ratings were about even with the previous week's episodes, "The Fight" and "Road Trip."