What is Parks and Recreation's IQ Score?

Parks and Recreation has an IQ Score of 129/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Competent tier. The score breaks down to 37/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 21/50 Educational Value, and 40/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Parks and Recreation educational?

Parks and Recreation is low on educational value, 21/50 on TVI's rubric. Watch for entertainment, not for learning.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Parks and Recreation , IQ Score 129/200

Parks and Recreation has an IQ Score of 129/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Competent tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-06-19·Methodology

comedymockumentary

129/ 200

Competent

Engages without demanding much, watchable and reasonably crafted

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,338 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. We accept no studio money. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions. Our reviewers see no sponsor data, no affiliate revenue, and no screener access in exchange for coverage. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Greg Daniels and Michael Schur's NBC mockumentary whose structural argument, that local-government work is meaningful even when unsuccessful, is more politically pointed than the comic register suggests. Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope is rare protagonist work whose specific bureaucratic competence is the actual story engine.

The Ron Swanson / Leslie ideological-opposite friendship is the show's structural anchor.

Characters Scored Here

People search for these characters by name. TVI doesn't invent fictional-character IQ numbers, but Parks and Recreation's score is the honest answer to how seriously the work treats each mind.

Ron SwansonIQ →

Where to Watch

Stream