Flight of the Conchords to reunite at Netflix is a Joke festival in LA

Flight of the Conchords are set to return after an eight-year hiatus, reuniting for an upcoming comedy festival alongside other Hollywood stars.

Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie will perform at Netflix’s Netflix is a Joke festival in Los Angeles in May, Variety reported.

It will be the Kiwi comedy duo’s first live show together since they filmed their “Live in London” special in 2018.

After meeting at Victoria University of Wellington, Clement and McKenzie began performing together as a live act combining music and comedy.

They later had a comedy radio show on BBC Radio 2, which they eventually converted into an HBO TV series.

The hit comedy aired from 2007 to 2009, following fictionalised versions of the pair as they pursued a music career in New York City.

Both went on to have successful Hollywood careers after the Emmy-nominated show ended in 2009.

Clement has starred in blockbusters and independent films, appearing in this year’s Avatar: Fire and Ash and co-directing the Kiwi hit What We Do In The Shadows.

McKenzie has also continued to act but is mainly known for his award-winning songwriting.

In 2011, he took home an Oscar for his work on Man or Muppet, a self-reflective ode written for the musical film The Muppets.

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement first started performing as Flight of the Conchords in 1998. Photo / Wendy Redfern, Redferns

He is set to tour Aotearoa and Australia this year, bringing his Freak Out City set to Wellington and Auckland in April.

In August last year, McKenzie told the Herald he was hopeful Flight of the Conchords would return in 2026.

“It’s actually 20 years since our BBC radio show next year, so maybe we’ll get some sort of 20th anniversary thing.”

Talking to Rolling Stone around the same time, the 49-year-old explained that the band’s hiatus was born out of a lack of new “creative themes”.

“In recent times, when we do songwriting sessions, we’ve written like 50 comedy songs. We come up with an idea and then we go, ‘Actually, it’s a lot like ... we’ve already done this.’ It’s like another version of the same song.”

He said the duo’s time out of the spotlight since the show ended seemed to have done little to deter their fanbase.

“It’s ironic that, by not doing as much, we’ve become more famous.”

Flight of the Conchords are scheduled to perform at The Greek Theatre on May 9.

Other comedians due to appear at the week-long festival include John Mulaney, Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen.