The Debate
🎞️ S4 E20 🚫 Hard pass

Parks and Recreation

Is Parks and Recreation S4 E20 OK for kids?

The Debate

Leslie goes toe-to-toe with Bobby Newport in their big televised debate. Ann, Tom, and Chris work in the media spin room, while Ron goes the extra mile to save a party for Leslie's donors.

📺 Where to watch

Netflix, HBO or Disney+ — catalogs differ by country.

🛒 Where to buy

Digital seasons or a box set to keep.

Content guide

👊 Violence
💋 Sex
🙊 Language
⭐ Overall

Skip for under 13

Parks and Recreation S4 E20, “The Debate”, scores 3/5 for violence, 4/5 for sex and 2/5 for language, for an overall kid-rating of 4/5 — Skip for under 13. Leslie goes toe-to-toe with Bobby Newport in their big televised debate. Ann, Tom, and Chris work in the media spin room, while Ron goes the extra mile to save a party for Leslie's donors.

Across the episode we counted 15 flagged moments in 5 themes: Sex & hookups (4); Nudity & bodies (2); Porn / strippers / sex work (1); Violence & injury (7); Alcohol & drugs (1). Every moment below is either a direct quote from the episode transcript or a short description of what happens on screen, so you can decide before you press play.

Watch for — every moment, theme by theme

Sex & hookups 4 moments

How Sex & hookups shows up in Parks and Recreation S4 E20:

  • Me so horny.
  • " And we all know the better-looking a park is, the more attention it will get from lady parks who want to have sex with it.
  • " By the looks of this guy, this is not consensual sex we're talking about.
  • My work, of course, is having sex with men and women on camera.

Nudity & bodies 2 moments

How Nudity & bodies shows up in Parks and Recreation S4 E20:

  • Explicit body / sex-act language appears in dialogue.
  • Does that guy Chris Traeger have a girlfriend, and is his penis normal? Stop talking.

Porn / strippers / sex work 1 moment

How Porn / strippers / sex work shows up in Parks and Recreation S4 E20:

  • You might be thinking, "what does an adult film star know about politics?" Well, I've produced and starred in over 400 adult films this year alone.

Violence & injury 7 moments

How Violence & injury shows up in Parks and Recreation S4 E20:

  • And anyone who even rubs their hands on a leather jacket should be tried for murder.
  • Many of you know me as the man who sells you your guns at the gun-believable Gun Emporium.
  • Whoo! I want to tell you about my idea for assault rifle vending machines.
  • "What will u do "2 make Pawnee safe & can u help me find my car?" I can assure you, if you had a gun mounted on the dashboard, which automatically shot people trying to break into it, you would still have your car.
  • We see bad guy had a gun the whole time.
  • I don't know if I can beat her.
  • And I was so mad, I punched a mailbox.

Alcohol & drugs 1 moment

How Alcohol & drugs shows up in Parks and Recreation S4 E20:

  • She's smoooooth like a blended whiskey.

Watch With The Kids · You kids — your rules! · Informal parent guidance, not an official rating.