Parks And Recreation: Why Tammy 2 Is More Important Than You Think

One of the huge draws for fans of Parks and Recreation, aside from the steady humor and the stacked cast, is the enjoyable crew of supporting characters. Despite their limited screen time, folks like Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) and Councilman Jamm (Jon Glaser) are just as iconic as the bigger names, like Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt). Few, however, left a longer-lasting impression on fans than everyman Ron Swanson's (Nick Offerman) ex-wife, Tammy 2.

The second Tammy coincidentally debuted in Parks and Rec's second season, in the episode titled "Ron and Tammy." She's manipulative, aggressive, and incredibly tactical, taking full advantage of Ron's feelings towards her and making him do her bidding. Her methods are so effective that the result is Ron, typically stern and independent, becoming a totally different person physically and emotionally.

For as awful as her antics are in the show, the woman behind Tammy 2, Megan Mullally, couldn't be further from her on-screen counterpart. She ensures that her character lives up to her nickname of "a machine created to destroy human happiness," as Ron described her, but there's more to the story than purely her performance. Tammy 2 is far more important than most people realize for one, interesting, behind-the-scenes reason.

To provide a little joy during a stressful global pandemic, the Parks and Recreation cast reunited for a one-off episode – A Parks and Recreation Special – five years after the series concluded. In keeping with social distancing guidelines, most of the cast recorded from separate locations in the fashion of a Zoom call, except for Ron and Tammy 2. They were both at the same physical location, since the story we t that she tried to sneak into his cabin and he managed to apprehend her. The only reason they could pull this off is that Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are married and live together in real life. Crazy, right?

In-universe, Ron is still with his new wife, Diane (Lucy Lawless), and Tammy is still as off-the-rails as ever in her pursuit to ruin Ron's life. In reality, Offerman and Mullally have been happily married since September 20, 2003, long before Parks and Rec hit the airwaves. This coincidence worked in the episode's favor, creating some story between the two that made sense without shoehorning it into the video chat format. It also adds an extra layer of comedy to all of their interactions throughout Parks and Recreation's tenure, further adding to Tammy 2's underlying significance.