So Long, ‘Flight of the Conchords’

The bad news for fans of the quirky HBO comedy Flight of the Conchords dropped on December 10. That’s when the series’ creators published a post on their website announcing the end of the show after just two seasons.

The series hasn’t been canceled by its home network HBO, however. Instead, the cancellation comes courtesy of the show’s New Zealand-based co-creators and stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie and co-creator and director James Bobin.

Said the three in a joint statement: “[W]e’ve noticed the less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it, so in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won’t be returning for a 3rd season. We’re very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended. We’d like to thank everyone who helped make the show and also everyone who watched it. While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist.”

The announcement doesn’t reveal exactly why Clement, McKenzie, and Bobin have decided to walk away from a well-received albeit cult show, but The Hollywood Reporter attributes the premature goodbye to the fact that all three still live in New Zealand, which makes filming a series for American television more difficult.

Not that many television actors and showrunners have the luxury of calling it quits on their own terms, and not that many would end their own show even if they could. So, I guess you could call this a brave choice. Fans will surely understand, and as the guys said themselves, they’ll still exist in real life.