To no real surprise, Flight of the Conchords has been grounded. But, unlike most other TV series, the cancellation wasn’t the network’s idea.

Flight of the Conchords is a unique comedy and music series that follows a two-person novelty band from New Zealand. It stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement as fictionalized versions of themselves, as well as Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, and Arj Barker.

The series debuted in June of 2007 and ran for 12 episodes on HBO. Conchords was renewed for a second season in August 2007 and was expected to begin airing in 2008. Production was delayed until September 2008, in part because of the writers strike. So, season two episodes weren’t broadcast until January 2009.

Clement and McKenzie were interviewed back in August 2008 and indicated that season two would probably be the end. McKenzie commented, “The second series [season] seems to me like it would be a good end to the show.”

Would you like to see a Conchords special? Yes! I'd love it! Maybe, I'm not sure. No. Let it go. View Results  Loading ...

In July 2009, HBO executives indicated that they wanted a third season of Conchords and were waiting for the duo to do it. The head of HBO’s programming, Michael Lombardo, said, “We’ve told them we’re ready to go for a third season.”

A few months later, Clement expressed doubts about a third season and contemplated either a shorter season or a special.

Now, the duo has made the show’s fate official — they’ve cancelled the series. On their website, they posted,

Bret, Jemaine and James (co-creator/director) said “we’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.

What do you think? Are you sorry that Conchords won’t be back for season three? Would you be open to a special of some kind?

Image courtesy HBO.