 The character of Ron Swanson received critical acclaim ; he developed a cult following and is widely considered the show 's breakout character . Joel Keller of TV Squad called Ron " one of the more inspired sitcom characters of the last decade , " Zap2it writer Joel Keller called him one of the best sitcom characters since Cosmo Kramer of Seinfeld , and Geoff Berkshire of Variety said that the character would " go down in TV history as one of the all @-@ time comedy greats . " Gabriel Perna of International Business Times wrote , " Offerman 's Ron Swanson is one of the main reasons to watch Parks and Recreation . Considering how funny the show is and the scope of its cast , that says a lot . " Likewise , Gail Pennington , television critic with the St. Louis Post @-@ Dispatch , called Nick Offerman " the funniest guy on TV , " and TV Fanatic writer Eric Hochberger said , " There 's certain character I watch this show for : Ron Swanson . " Jonah Weiner of Slate.com said Ron " has regularly stolen his scenes " and that Offerman has " a gift for understated physical comedy , " and Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club said Offerman was not only funny , but capable of expressing a surprising range of emotions . 
