Jerry's Painting

The original broadcast ran 10 minutes longer than usual because it followed an extended episode of The Office, which featured the last appearance by lead actor Steve Carell.

"Jerry's Painting" featured appearances by recurring guest stars Darlene Hunt as activist Marcia Langman, and Jay Jackson as reporter Perd Hapley.

The next day, local conservative activist Marcia Langman compares the painting to bestiality, deems it unsuitable for a government setting and demands it be destroyed.

However, she is undermined when reporter Perd Hapley also has on pornographic film actress Brandi Maxxxx, who defends the painting by comparing it to pornography.

[4][5] "Jerry's Painting" featured a guest appearance by Darlene Hunt as Marcia Langman, a member of the conservative group the Society for Family Stability Foundation.

[9][10] During one scene at the art show, a character named Orin stands in front of a blank canvas and stares straight ahead without moving.

[11] This was previously demonstrated in the second-season finale "Freddy Spaghetti", when the group's song "On Bended Knee" was playing while Tom has his girlfriend at his apartment.

[13] Ben gives Andy and April cash and instructs them to buy home products at Bed Bath & Beyond, a chain of domestic merchandise retail stores.

[11][14] While there, Andy and April instead start to purchase several "as seen on TV" items, including Shake Weight dumbbells, Slap Chop kitchen gadgets and a Marshmallow Shooter.

[2][5] In a different scene, Tom expresses anger that Jerry's painting is "killing the Jay-Z vibe" he has long been cultivating, a reference to the hip hop artist.

[3][11] Nielsen ratings were expected to be high for "Jerry's Painting" due to a lead-in from Steve Carell's final episode as a regular cast member on The Office.

[5] Nick McHatton of TV Fanatic called "Jerry's Painting" one of the strongest episodes of the season, and said he enjoyed seeing Leslie's character so empowered.

[15] Scott Meslow of The Atlantic said the show demonstrated how Leslie Knope has developed into a strong and confident character since the "daffy, wide-eyed dreamer" she was in the first season.

[20] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix said the episode featured great scenes about government inaction and the way small-time media can make a frenzy out of any minor thing.

While Porter praised the main story, he said he found the subplot less entertaining, and did not believe April's character would have acted the way she did or lived in such filthy conditions.

Matt Fowler of IGN said the idea of Jerry subconsciously painting Leslie and Tom was "a bit too absurd", and that the episode did not feature enough of Ron Swanson.