PARKS & REC is not a Greg Daniels show, but something that Mike Schur and the team clearly took from their years on Daniels' THE OFFICE is the idea of giving each character One Thing that is really specific and weird about them, a signature move that the show can keep returning to.
There are big, meaty versions of this which can generate story for days and days--Tom's insane business ideas; Leslie's overwhelming generosity; Ron's alter ego; Chris' endless positivity; Jerry's total haplesssness.
But by That One Thing I mean the garnishes, the little decorations happening around the edges. Like Leslie's obsession with waffles. Or the fact Chris tends to greet people using their full names, and absolutely always does Ann Perkins. Or the fact that Ben gets profoundly nervous when doing public speaking. Or the fact that Donna clearly has this whole other life going on. Or Jerry's loving family.
These are the things that aren't so much story engines--although over time they can provide interesting new wrinkles--as they are ways of making the characters specific and interesting.They seem like background details, but they actually end up being the cherry on top, that one last brushstroke that takes a fine portrait and makes it goddamn gold.
When I'm writing a script I'm often lost in the weeds of plot, dialogue, character arc. All good things. But from time to time you have to be like Georges Seurat. Step back and ask yourself, where does this painting need a monkey or a funny hat?
