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Jemaine Clement on Why Flight of the Conchords Might End, and What Might Be Next

Earlier this week, Jemaine Clement broke the news that his folk-comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords, “very likely might not†return as a series. He and his elfin collaborator, Bret McKenzie, will make their final decision within the next month. What’s at stake? Family commitments, as it turns out. “Bret and I are both fathers,†Clement told us during an interview to promote his (troubled) new film Gentlemen Broncos. “We know if we take on another season, that means we’re not gonna see our family for a year.†Even if he dragged his wife and 1-year-old son, Sophocles (Soph, for short), from New Zealand to New York, where the show is shot, he says he’d still be working every single day.

If Clement does retire, hopefully we’ll see more of him on the big screen. (He is, after all, the best part of the flailing Jared Hess film.) “Films actually don’t take a lot of time, but TV shows are so fast-paced. Even though they’re both acting, they’re almost totally different jobs,†he says. “People think actors wanna move to film because it’s high profile, and I don’t think that’s the reason. I think it’s simply that they have more free time.â€

Jemaine Clement on Why Flight of the Conchords Might End, and What Might Be Next