The Bubble (Parks and Recreation)

"The Bubble" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 45th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 19, 2011. In the episode, Leslie becomes nervous when her new boyfriend Ben has a business meeting with her tough mother, Marlene. Meanwhile, Chris tries to make some changes in the parks department, much to the chagrin of the staff.

Written by Greg Levine and Brian Rowe and directed by Matt Sohn, "The Bubble" originally aired back-to-back along with "Li'l Sebastian". The two are stand-alone episodes not originally meant to run together, but because the third season premiered late, they had to be shown together so the series' season would conclude by the end of the television season. The episode featured a guest appearance by Pamela Reed as Leslie's mother Marlene, her first appearance since the second season episode "Galentine's Day".

"The Bubble" marked a major progression for the character Tom Haverford, who starts considering if he should leave his city hall position, which sets the stage for him to leave the position in "Li'l Sebastian". "The Bubble" received generally positive reviews and, according to Nielsen Media Research, was seen by an estimated 4.27 million household viewers. Combined with an estimated 3.72 million household viewers with "Li'l Sebastian", the two episodes' ratings were about even with the previous week's episodes, "The Fight" and "Road Trip".