NBC renews "Parks and Recreation" for third season

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC has renewed the comedy "Parks and Recreation" for a third season.

The early pickup was done strictly for production reasons, to lock in actors' schedules, a representative for NBC said, stressing that the sole pickup in no means reflects on the renewal chances of NBC's other Thursday comedies.

Indeed, "The Office," "30 Rock" and freshman "Community," which pull higher ratings than "Parks," all look set to return for another season.

After a soft start as a midseason entry last spring, "Parks," which stars Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari, has been gaining steam this season creatively and ratings-wise.

Season to date, "Parks" has averaged 5.1 million viewers.