The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by
Akiva Schaffer,
Andy Samberg and
Jorma Taccone at
Berkeley,
California in 2001. The trio first met the previous decade while attending
high school. After graduating from college, they regrouped and moved to
Los Angeles, California, where they struggled to find work and began making short films, combining absurdist comedy and occasionally music. Among the first performers to post their material on the Internet, they involved themselves with
Channel 101, a non-profit monthly short film festival. Their popularity at the screenings led to unsuccessful pilot deals with
Fox and
Comedy Central, but also a writing job for the
2005 MTV Movie Awards. The show's host,
Jimmy Fallon, recommended them to
Lorne Michaels, the creator of
Saturday Night Live.