Surviving Quarantine with the Utopias of Michael Schur

The sitcoms of Michael Schur remind us of the power of the positive.

We all know that it’s a tough time to be alive these days. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc with almost every aspect of American life, upending all of the rhythms that we’d all collectively taken for granted. Even for those, like me, who were already working from home before social distancing and self-imposed quarantine, the constant barrage of bad news about the virus and its devastating impact on the United States is a bit overwhelming. It has now given me a basis upon which to found my previously unmoored existential dread.

In order to distract myself and to remind me that there is good in the world, I decided to rewatch some of my favourite television series, particularly those created by Michael Schur. I started out by watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine from beginning to end, before going back in time a bit and watching Parks and Recreation. As I did so, I simply immersed myself in the fictional universes of these two series, embracing the laughter and the tears.

Indeed, there’s something truly special about the television works of Michael Schur. From Parks and Rec to The Good Place to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, these shows show us groups of people, most of them devoted to public service, who are just…