Today in TV History: ‘Parks and Recreation’ Introduced Us to Ron’s Ex-Wife, Tammy

Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone. 

IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: November 5, 2009

PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Parks and Recreation, “Ron and Tammy” (Season 2, Episode 8) [Watch on Netflix]

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:  The second season of Parks and Recreation is a magical series of episodes that managed to transform a struggling knockoff of The Office into a funny, confident, fully wonderful sitcom of its own. One of the major turning points in that effort was the “Ron and Tammy” episode.

Ron’s monstrous ex-wife Tammy (one of two ex-wives named Tammy) had been alluded to on the show before, but here’s where we got to see her in the flesh, as played by Megan Mullally, real-life wife of Nick Offerman. Tammy’s introduction is a bit of a fake-out at first, and it seems like the joke might be that Ron’s outsized hatred of her (paired with Leslie’s outsized hatred of the Library department) belies a rather mild-mannered and lovely woman. The brilliance lies in the second twist: that Tammy is in fact everything Ron has said she is and worse. A force of pure destruction.

What wasn’t a surprise was that Megan Mullally is one of our best comedic talents, and the way she spins Tammy’s reval of her true personality is played just big enough to be sensational without stretching past the carefully constructed boundaries of the Parks and Rec comedic universe. It’s great work. Tammy would return to the show several times, each one wreaking havoc on our characters, particularly Ron. Though she did run screaming from Ron’s other ex-wife, Tammy 1.

[You can watch the “Ron and Tammy” episode of Parks And Recreation on Netflix]

Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.