Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe leaving Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is about to lose two of their regular castmembers. Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe have announced they are leaving the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Jones has been with the series since the very first episode, and Lowe joined in the second season. The two characters have dated on and off on the show since Lowe’s arrival, and recently have been looking into the possibilities of having children.

Parks and Recreation was renewed on NBC for a full season, and Jones and Lowe will be leaving after the 13^th episode.

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Though the show has many regulars who have been on board since the very beginning, it has seen others come and go. Paul Schneider left the season just after Lowe and Adam Scott joined the cast. Parks and Recreation has been a launching point for many careers though, including actors like Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Chris Pratt and even Jones to a certain extent.

Amy Poehler is one of the only sure things on the show, and it likely wouldn’t go on if she ever decided to leave (although people said the same thing about Steve Carell on The Office, and that show went on for seasons after his departure).

Lowe and Jones are both working on other projects, so their departures are not all that surprising. Jones just signed a deal with Warner Bros. TV to write and produce projects for TV.

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Lowe is starring in National Geographic’s Killing Kennedy, and recently starred in Behind the Candelabra, alongside Matt Damon and Michael Douglas. However, it looks like NBC wants to keep the actor around. Deadline.com reports that the network may be in talks with the actor for his very own series.

Parks and Recreation’s hour-long season premiere will air Sept. 26, and will go head-to-head with The Big Bang Theory’s hour-long premiere on CBS.

Photo credit: Nikki Nelson/WENN.com