'Parks and Recreation': Pics of Leslie Knope's Washington adventure

It's hard to tell if the picture up above of Amy Poehler sharing a laugh with Sen. John McCain is a candid moment or an in-character shot from the coming season of "Parks and Recreation." Either way, though, it works.

Poehler was a "Saturday Night Live" cast member when McCain hosted the show in 2002, so it's conceivable the NBC photographer caught them catching up. But her "Parks and Rec" character, Leslie Knope, is such a government nerd that it's easy to imagine her getting just that excited about meeting the Arizona senator. (McCain is one of three current senators making cameos in the episode.)

The Washington episode is currently scheduled to air as the second one of the season, and based on these other photos, it looks like Leslie brings Andy (Chris Pratt) along when she visits Ben (Adam Scott) at his new job in D.C. They visit the Capitol, then reunite with Ben and April (Aubrey Plaza) at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.



"Parks and Rec" begins its fifth season on NBC on Thursday, Sept. 20.