''Human Giant'' is a

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

show, starring writer/performers

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari (; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and as creator and star of the Netflix series ''Master ...

, Rob Huebel, and

Paul Scheer Paul Christian Scheer (born January 31, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. Scheer is a SAG award-winning actor known for his roles in Showtime's comedy series ''Black Monday'' and FX/ FXX's ''The L ...

, and directed primarily by

Jason Woliner Jason Woliner is an American director, writer and a former child actor who directed the 2020 movie '' Borat Subsequent Moviefilm''. He was the non-performing member of the comedy group Human Giant and directed the bulk of their output. After th ...

. The show ran for two seasons on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were offered a third season by MTV but were unable to complete it due to Ansari's commitments to the hit

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

show ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

'', while Ansari mentioned on Howard Stern that the show's end was more because it is hard to keep a sketch show consistently funny over several seasons. The group has stated that MTV has left the door open for the group to complete a third season at a later date or to produce a special for the network. In 2010, Ansari, Huebel and Scheer reunited to do a skit for the

2010 MTV Movie Awards The 2010 MTV Movie Awards was the 19th annual ceremony which took place on June 6, 2010, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Aziz Ansari served as a host for the ceremony. Voting the nominees began from a list of eligible cont ...

. In November 2008, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' noted the group was developing a feature film with

Red Hour Productions Red Hour Productions or Red Hour Films is an American film production company operated by actor Ben Stiller and formerly with producer Stuart Cornfeld. In the past, Red Hour has had first-look deals with New Line Cinema, and currently has an exc ...

, the production company run by

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

and producer

Stuart Cornfeld Stuart Cornfeld (November 13, 1952 – June 26, 2020) was an American film producer. He was business partners with Ben Stiller in the company Red Hour Productions. Biography Cornfeld was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended the Universi ...

Premise

The show, which premiered on April 5, 2007, consists of short humorous videos. Some of the clips were first seen online such as "Shutterbugs", as part of

Channel 101 NY Channel 101: NY, formerly known as Channel 102, is a monthly live screening of five-minute-long "TV shows" in New York City, created by Tony Carnevale, with the blessings of Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab. Harmon and Schrab created Channel 101, the Los ...

, "Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru", "The Illusionators" and an unaired skit called "Other Music". Human Giant has also gained a large audience in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

comedy scene through live shows at the

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Ri ...

and their weekly comedy show, ''Crash Test''. The show closed out a Thursday night "10 Spot" line-up for MTV, which also included ''

Pimp My Ride ''Pimp My Ride'' is an American television series produced by MTV and hosted by rapper Xzibit, which ran for six seasons on MTV from 2004 to 2007. In each episode, a car in poor condition is both restored and customized. The work on the show w ...

'', ''

Short Circuitz ''Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz'' is a sketch comedy show starring Nick Cannon on MTV that debuted April 5, 2007. The show was cancelled and pulled from MTV on April 30, 2007, due to low ratings. A month after the show's cancellation, the ...

'' (before being put on hiatus), and ''

Adventures in Hollyhood ''Adventures in Hollyhood'' is a reality TV show about the rap group Three 6 Mafia and its members Juicy J and DJ Paul. The show primarily takes place at a Hollywood Hills home that the pair resides in along with Hypnotize Minds artist Project Pa ...

'', ending with ''Human Giant''. The line-up started at 9 PM and ended at 11 PM.

Episodes

Season 1

This skit was removed from the season one DVD. These skits were edited for the season one DVD. Added for the season one DVD.

Season 2

The group began working on ''Human Giant'' Season 2 at the end of August, 2007. Season 2 premiered on March 11, 2008 and ran for 6 episodes. The season finale premiered April 15, 2008. *Note the CrimeTime sketch, the Gay Porn Star Car Accident sketch, and the Illusinator Camera Trick sketch for season 2 all show up on the Season 1 DVD as easter eggs.

24-hour marathon

The cast of ''Human Giant'' were on-air on MTV and

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

for a twenty-four-hour period between

noon Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 (military time). Solar ...

on Friday, May 18, 2007 to noon on Saturday, May 19, 2007, broadcasting from MTV's

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

studio, during which time they were given free rein to perform skits, bring in guests, and air clips from classic MTV series like “Remote Control” and “The State”. The ostensible premise of the "marathon" was that their show would be given a second season if they could get a million hits on their website (which it did) during that time. Notable guests stopping by included

Albert Hammond Jr Albert Hammond Jr. (''born'' Hammond III; born April 9, 1980) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his role as rhythm and lead guitarist, as well as occasional keyboard player and backing vocalist ...

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (2018 ...

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...

, and

Jorma Taccone Jorma Christopher Taccone (; born March 19, 1977) is an American comedian, director, actor, and writer. He is one-third of the sketch comedy troupe The Lonely Island, with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer. In 2010, Taccone co-wro ...

from ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'',

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series ''Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular charact ...

and

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera (; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor and musician. He started his career as a child actor, voicing the character of Brother Bear on the children's television show ''The Berenstain Bears (2003 TV series), The Berenstain ...

from ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'',

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

Eugene Mirman Eugene Boris MirmanJackson, Todd (2009). Eugene Mirman. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from . (born July 24, 1974) is a Russian-American actor, comedian, and writer, known for playing Yvgeny Mirminsky on ''Delocated'' and Gene Belcher on the animated ...

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...

Corn Mo Corn Mo is the stage name of Jon Cunningham, an American, Brooklyn-based musician. Corn Mo sings, plays the accordion, keyboards, and sometimes performs as a one man band. His music style is a mixture of circus music, glam rock, and humorou ...

Todd Barry Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

, Matt Higgins,

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

Morningwood Morningwood was an alternative rock band from New York City. Founded in 2001, it primarily consisted of Pedro Yanowitz and Chantal Claret. Morningwood was signed to Capitol Records and released two albums. Claret went solo in 2012 and folded the ...

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

Tapes 'n Tapes Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. History Formed in the winter of 2003 at Carleton College, the band has released four albums. First came the self-released ''Tapes 'n Tapes EP'' in 2004, followed by the full-length ...

, The National,

Tim and Eric Tim & Eric are an American comedy duo consisting of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. They are the creators and stars of the Adult Swim television series ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', ''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', '' Check It Out! wit ...

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...

, and others.

Reunion

In late May 2010, troupe member

announced on his website that he and fellow members Rob Huebel,

and

had filmed a brand new sketch for the

, which Ansari was scheduled to host. Ansari mentioned that it would be a Human Giant reunion of sorts, the first time they filmed a new sketch together as a sketch group since the series ended. The sketch was called "Stunt Kidz", which consisted of Huebel and Ansari's Shutterbugs characters, now owners of a child stunt agency where little children act as stunt men for dangerous scenes and end up injured in several occasions. Scheer acts as a director who employs Huebel and Ansari.

Home releases

The first season of ''Human Giant'' was released on March 4, 2008, one week ahead of the season two premiere on March 11. It was released in a two-disc set. Disc one features all eight episodes and commentary tracks on all episodes with special guests calling-in or with the cast in the commentary room. Disc two features highlights from the 24-hour marathon, deleted and alternate scenes, unaired sketches, sneak previews for season two, early footage with Aziz, Rob and Paul, and a compilation clip.Human Giant DVD news: Announcement for Human Giant - The Complete 1st Season , TVShowsOnDVD.com

Credited consultants

The core writing team consists of

, Rob Huebel,

and executive producer

Tom Gianas Tom Gianas is an American comedy writer, director and producer. Gianas was the showrunner for the MTV sketch comedy series ''Human Giant''. He has collaborated with and directed Bob Odenkirk in '' Half My Face is A Clown''; Sarah Silverman in ...

. The following people have, at one point, also worked as consultants on the show: *

Eric Appel Eric Appel (born August 13, 1980) is an American filmmaker working in television, film, and commercials. Originally from Endicott, New York, Appel attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, majoring in computer animation. Describing his childh ...

Andy Blitz Andrew Blitz (born June 28, 1971) is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor best known for his sketch comedy and writing work on the late-night talk show ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. He has received nine Emmy Award nominations. ...

Brian Posehn Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's ''Mr. Show with ...

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

Jon Glaser Jonathan Daniel Glaser (born June 20, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his work as a writer and sketch performer for many years on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', creating and starring in the Adult Swim s ...

Dan Mintz Daniel Alexander Mintz (born September 25, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his role as Bob's oldest daughter Tina Belcher on the animated show ''Bob's Burgers''. As a comedian, he is known for his extremely deadp ...

Howard Kremer Howard Michael Kremer (born February 3, 1971), also known by his stage name Dragon Boy Suede and his nicknames H. Michael Kre and Howie Michael Motorcycle, is an American comedian and comedic rapper. Howard Kremer is the host of the '' Who Char ...

Jay Johnston Jay Johnston (born October 22, 1968) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as a writer and cast member on ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'' and for his roles on ''The Sarah Silverman Program, Arrested Development,'' and ...

* Ian Roberts * Matt Walsh * Leo Allen *

Jerry Minor Jerome Charles Minor Jr. (born October 4, 1969) is an American actor, comedian and writer known for his comedic roles in numerous television programs such as ''Mr. Show'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Trigger Happy TV'', ''Delocated'', ''Brickleber ...

Ali Farahnakian Ali Reza Farahnakian (born October 26, 1967) is an American actor, writer, and improvisational comedian. He is the founder of The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT) in NYC and co-starred in the Adult Swim comedy series ''Delocated''. Life and career ...

* Morgan Murphy * H. Jon Benjamin *

Nick Swardson Nicholas Roger Swardson (born October 9, 1976) ...

Tommy Blacha Thomas Blacha (born August 25, 1962) is an American voice actor, writer, and producer. He is known working for shows such as ''Metalocalypse'', ''Da Ali G Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. Career Blacha started as a local Chicago Co ...

Chris Romano Chris Romano also known as "Romanski" (born March 28, 1978) is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, most commonly known for co-creating, producing and starring in Spike TV's '' Blue Mountain State''. Early life Romano grew up in ...

Harris Wittels Harris Lee Wittels (April 20, 1984 – February 19, 2015) was an American comedian. He was a writer for ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', a writer and executive producer for '' Parks and Recreation'', and a recurring guest on ''Comedy Bang! Bang!' ...

Paul Rust Paul Robert Rust (born April 12, 1981) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film ''I Love You, Beth Cooper'' and in the Netflix series ''Love''. Early life Rust was born in Le Mars, Iowa, the son of Jeanne and Bob R ...

* Neil Campbell *

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...

Charlie Sanders Charles Alvin Sanders (August 25, 1946 July 2, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1968 to 1977. Sanders was chosen for the NFL's 1970s All ...

Brett Gelman Brett Clifford Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series '' Stranger Things'' and as Martin on the BBC comedy ''Fleabag''. Gelman bega ...

John Gemberling John Gemberling (born February 1, 1981) is an American actor and comedian best known for roles as Bevers on the Comedy Central series ''Broad City'', as Gil on the NBC sitcom '' Marry Me'', and as John Hancock on the Fox sitcom '' Making History'' ...

Curtis Gwinn ''Fat Guy Stuck in Internet'' is an American science-fiction comedy television series created by John Gemberling and Curtis Gwinn for Cartoon Network's late-night adult-oriented programming block Adult Swim; and ended with a total of ten episodes ...

Liz Cackowski Elizabeth Cackowski is an American comedy writer and actress. Career Cackowski began her comedy career at The Second City in Chicago where she was discovered and hired by ''Saturday Night Live'', where she worked as a writer from 2003 to 2006. ...

References

External links

*
On the Sets of ''The Human Giant'' - Images from Venice Beach
*

on public radio program ''

The Sound of Young America ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'' (formerly ''The Sound of Young America'') is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California, and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). The weekly show is currently heard on over 50 public r ...

''
SuperDeluxe.com - Human Giant Interview (Video)

''New York Magazine'' - Human Giant Profile

Pitchforkmedia - Human Giant Interview

Onion AV Club - Human Giant Interview

* ttps://www.avclub.com/content/hater/human_giant_programs_mtv_for_24 Onion AV Club - Human Giant 24 Hour Marathon Coverage
''Village Voice'' - Human Giant 24 Hour Marathon Coverage

{{MTVNetwork Shows 2007 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American sketch comedy television series Channel 101 MTV original programming Television series based on Internet-based works Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment