'Flight of the Conchords' series two preview

Jemaine Clement (left) and Bret Mckenzie. Photo / AP

The Flight of the Conchords' second series is out - Joanna Hunkin had a sneak preview

Flight of the Conchords' long-awaited second season premiered in America on Sunday night, proving the Kiwi duo haven't lost their flair for the ridiculous.

The programme has been on hiatus for more than a year, partly due to the writers' strike, and the need to pen new music after depleting their original catalogue during the first season.

The second series will screen in New Zealand on Prime later this year, but we managed to score a sneak peak, thanks to the interweb.

Spoiler alert - all those wanting to savour the delights of the new season should stop reading now. But for those hanging out for a Conchords update, here's what the boys have in store...

When we last left Bret and Jemaine, they had been dumped by their respective bandmates, who teamed up to form the Crazy Doggz.

Now platinum-selling recording artists, the Crazy Doggz have become Murray's sole focus, seeing him quit his job at the consulate and move into a flash new office.

Unhappy playing second-fiddle to the Doggz, Bret and Jemaine fire Murray, in the opening scene of the season premiere.

"Before you came to me, you were poor and had no gigs. Now look at you!" cries Murray in indignation.

"We're poor and we've got no gigs," replies Bret.

"We're slightly poorer," adds Jemaine.

"Are you really?" asks Murray.

"Yeah, Bret's only got one shoe."

In addition to these classic deadpan moments, the boys also poke fun at their real-life achievements, in a brilliant scene where Murray announces the band's two Grammy Awards are fake.

"I had to make them myself. They're pencil sharpeners stuck to a couple of pieces of wood," says Murray.

"We didn't win the Grammys?" asks a doe-eyed Jemaine.

Of course, in reality the band are Grammy Award-winning artists, and nominated again at next month's awards for Best Comedy Album.

Musically, the first episode doesn't serve up the same level of singalong satire that the first season did - it's hard to beat

The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)

for a season opener - but the biggest laughs have always come from their inane, rambling banter and regular jibes at New Zealand's expense.

When asked to write a jingle for a women's-only toothpaste, the band return with an 18-minute diatribe that doesn't mention toothpaste.

"I know you're from New Zealand, but what is this,

Lord of the Rings

? We don't have all day!" says the advertising executive - played by

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

comedian Greg Proops.

By the end of the episode, the boys have re-hired Murray - who has returned to his job at the consulate after the Crazy Doggz were found to have plagiarised a Polish band's song - and are still broke after the advertising agency discovered the band don't actually have work permits.

It's back to the status quo. Which in the Conchords' case, is pretty bloody excellent.

Sub Pop has announced a new Flight of the Conchords album will be released on April 14, featuring up to 15 songs from the new series. The record is as yet untitled.

What the critics said

Some people may never quite get the Conchords' oddball humour, but the duo have secured some high and mighty fans since debuting in 2007.

Here's what some of America's toughest critics had to say about the new season.

"The second season discovers the show's struggling duo in fine form, generating enough moments of genuine whimsy to sustain its cult status and add a much-coveted demographic patch to the pay channel's programming quilt."

- Brian Lowry,

Variety

"The real affirmation of the night is Season 2 of Flight of the Conchords, which flat-out cements the quirky brilliance of 'New Zealand's fourth most popular folk parody duo'.

"The level of cleverness of Flight of the Conchords is off the charts ... more laughs have never come from such a lack of effort. Flight of the Conchords remains one of the funniest series on television."

- Tim Goodman,

San Francisco Chronicle

"As always, the New Zealand accents make everything funnier. The real issue this season will be the quality of the songs. The first season used up all of the pair's existing material, and the new songs in the first three shows are uneven. Mr Clement and Mr McKenzie pull off a neat trick in their show: they play a pair of clueless losers set loose in New York while simultaneously communicating the fact that in real life they're hipster studs."

- Mike Hale,

New York Times

"'Truth be told, the second season of Flight of the Conchords has the feel of a rock group's sophomore-slump second album: It's not quite as inventive or inspired as the first time around. Yet it's still funnier than almost anything on the broadcast networks, and I know it will make for appointment viewing in my household."

- Ted Cox,

Chicago Daily Herald