Schneider leaving 'Parks and Recreation'

The Los Angeles Times said Schneider wants to concentrate on his film career but may return to "Recreation" for guest appearances during the show's third season.

"This character, Mark, is at least partially based on a real guy that (co-creator and executive producer Greg Daniels) and I met while we were doing research. His career had a very interesting trajectory, which is he worked for the government for a long time as a city planner and he got so fed up with the lifestyle and the red tape and the bureaucracy, that he ... moved into the private sector. Then he got so fed up and tired of how gross corporations are that he moved back to the government. He oscillated back and forth multiple times," "Parks" co-creator and executive producer Mike Schur told the Times. "When we first cast Paul, we told him that the idea would be Mark would leave and then ideally he would come back in a different capacity working for a different company. ... And the movie opportunities he's getting are incredibly cool, interesting movies, not the summer blockbuster movies that can be scheduled around TV actors when they need to be."

Schneider's departure means his character's relationship with co-star Rashida Jones's Ann will be resolved by the end of this season, Schur noted.

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