HBO's Troubadours Take Flight

The co-creator of Flight of the Conchords discusses its odes to Midnight Cowboy and Magnolia, working with Michel Gondry and whether there will ever be a third season.

Male prostitution. Gangland warfare. Stalkers. Epileptic dogs. No, it’s not a hard-hitting HBO drama, it’s a gleefully absurd cult HBO comedy, Flight of the Conchords, which tracks the misadventures of two luckless Kiwi singer-songwriters as they attempt to score with the ladies and break into the New York hipster music scene with their own inimitable folk-rock band.

The result is one of the most quirky, winsome, and unique series on television, nominated for six Emmy awards, including Comedy Series, Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Directing for a Comedy Series, Writing for a Comedy Series, Original Music and Lyrics, and Sound Mixing.

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Created by James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, and Bret McKenzie (the latter of which play themselves onscreen), Flight of the Conchords offers its audience a glimpse into a topsy-turvy world where just about anything is possible, including spontaneous singing, tongue-in-cheek dream sequences, and elaborate music videos spanning a range of musical styles.

In the second season, the memorably eccentric supporting characters, including the band's fan/stalker Mel (Kristen Schaal), band manager Murray (Rhys Darby), dim-witted capitalist Dave (Arj Barker), and Mel’s hapless husband Doug (David Costabile) all get a chance to sparkle under the spotlight while Bret and Jemaine make one (potentially) final grasp at stardom and land themselves back in New Zealand, where they return to their former careers as shepherds.

Is it curtains for the band that brought us "Sugalumps," a rap-spiced ditty about male genitalia? Only time will tell. But what's certain is that Flight of the Conchords will continue to enthrall its fan base for years to come. The Daily Beast spoke to creator James Bobin.

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Jace Lacob is the writer/editor of Televisionary, a website devoted to television news, criticism, and interviews. Jace resides in Los Angeles. He is a contributor to several entertainment Web sites and can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

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