36 Facts About Chris Traeger

Christopher "Chris" Traeger is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation.

Chris Traeger began on the show as an Indiana State Auditor who visits the fictional city of Pawnee to help solve their crippling budget problems, and eventually becomes Pawnee's acting City Manager.

Chris Traeger was a romantic interest for Ann Perkins throughout the show's run.

Chris Traeger imposes a strict policy against workplace dating at city hall, but series protagonist Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt begin secretly dating anyway, which Chris Traeger eventually accepts.

Chris Traeger begins the show as an auditor working for the Indiana state government in Indianapolis, but eventually becomes the acting city manager of Pawnee, the fictional Indiana city where Parks and Recreation is set.

Chris Traeger avoids eating red meat and fatty foods in favor of dishes like lean turkey burgers and vegetable loaf sweetened with fruit reduction, and takes a huge assortment of unusual vitamins.

Chris Traeger's ambition is to become the first human being to live 150 years.

Chris Traeger always greets people with a firm handshake and direct eye contact, and to remember their names often points directly at people and repeats their names upon first meeting them.

Chris Traeger often declares things to be "literally" the best thing he's ever seen or done, strongly emphasizing the word and pronouncing it "littrally".

Chris Traeger asks Ann to go on a date with Chris, then try to convince him to increase the budget.

When Leslie accidentally gives away her secret plan, Chris Traeger is hurt and disparaged by Ann's ulterior motive.

However, when a flu outbreak strikes Pawnee in "Flu Season", Chris Traeger becomes severely ill, as due to his extreme workout regimen, he has a poor immune system and low body fat.

Chris Traeger suffers a complete physical breakdown and becomes delirious from fever, which causes Ann to feel less intimidated by him.

However, Chris Traeger is so optimistic while discussing their break-up that she falsely believes they have gotten back together and tries to kiss him, thus embarrassing herself further.

Meanwhile, Chris Traeger offers Ben a full-time job working at the Pawnee government, which Ben accepts.

Chris Traeger proves to be an energetic city manager, encouraging Leslie to pursue ambitious, grand-scale projects like the harvest festival she organized before he returned to Pawnee.

In that same episode, when he sees Leslie kiss fellow employee Tom Haverford and falsely believes they are dating, Chris Traeger warns her he maintains a strict policy against workforce dating and insists she could be fired if she engages such a relationship.

Chris Traeger is unaware that Leslie and Ben actually have romantic feelings for each other, and eventually start dating without his knowledge.

Chris Traeger is eventually comforted by Ann, who now works part-time at city hall as the health department's public relations director.

Chris Traeger feels better and appears to begin developing feelings again for her.

In "Ron and Tammys", Chris Traeger helps Ann shoot a health-related PSA.

In "Pawnee Rangers", Chris Traeger meets Jerry's daughter Millicent.

In "Bowling for Votes", Millie dumps Chris Traeger, leaving him depressed.

Chris Traeger helps Leslie's campaign however he can, even taking on a large amount of busy work to distract him from his loneliness "Bus Tour".

Chris Traeger has a brief liaison with Bobby Newport's campaign manager, which cheers him up.

In season five, Chris Traeger is still working as Pawnee's City Manager.

Chris Traeger is no longer depressed, but is continuously seeing a therapist.

Chris Traeger is asked to be the father of Ann Perkins' child via in vitro fertilization.

Chris Traeger is hesitant at first and turns to Ben and others to help him make a decision.

Chris Traeger is the most positive person in the world.

Chris Traeger made his first appearance on the show in "The Master Plan", the penultimate episode of the second season.

Originally, Chris Traeger was only meant to be a guest role, with Lowe portraying him in the final two episodes of the second season and the first six episodes of the third season before departing the series.

Once Lowe joined the permanent cast, Chris Traeger' role changed into more of an authority figure concerned with integrity and efficiency, although he continued to maintain his positive attitude and personality.

For example, Chris Traeger began to enforce his strict no-dating policy around city hall.

Matt Fowler of IGN expressed the same sentiments after earlier episodes, but by the third season said Chris Traeger proved to be a great addition to the show.

Lowe received particularly strong praise for his role in "Flu Season", in which Chris Traeger became extremely ill and hallucinatory when infected with the flu.