Human Giant

Did You Know?

• The 24-hour marathon in May 2007 featured guests from Saturday Night Live, Arrested Development, and musical acts like Mastodon and The National.
• The group was offered a third season and was developing a feature film with Red Hour Productions, but these did not happen due to Aziz Ansari's commitments to Parks and Recreation.
• The first season DVD was released on March 4, 2008, one week ahead of the season two premiere on March 11, 2008.

Production

The comedy group Human Giant formed in 2005 when Ansari, Huebel, Scheer, and Woliner began collaborating. They built a following in New York City through live shows at the Upright Citizens Brigade and their weekly show Crash Test, later expanding into short films. Early digital videos such as "Shutterbugs" and "The Illusionators" gained popularity on MySpace and YouTube, leading MTV to offer the group a series. On MTV, the show closed a Thursday night "10 Spot" line-up that included Pimp My Ride, Short Circuitz, and Adventures in Hollyhood, running from 9 PM to 11 PM. The group was offered a third season and considered a feature film, but Ansari's commitments to Parks and Recreation prevented further projects. Without his participation, the group agreed to end the series on a positive note rather than continue.

Critical response

Human Giant received positive reviews from critics. Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly called it "everything sketch comedy should be: smart, odd, and surprising." The Village Voice described it as "something like a Mountain Dewed-up version of MTV’s mid-'90s sketch offering The State." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club noted the show's addictiveness and positioned it as a link between Mr. Show and web-era comedians, comparing Rob Huebel to Bob Odenkirk and Paul Scheer and Aziz Ansari to David Cross. Rolling Stone ranked Human Giant at number 38 on its list of the 40 Greatest Sketch-Comedy TV Shows.

24-hour marathon

The cast of Human Giant broadcast live from MTV's Times Square studio for 24 hours from noon on Friday, May 18, 2007, to noon on Saturday, May 19, 2007. They performed skits, brought in guests, and aired clips from classic MTV series such as Remote Control and The State. The premise was that a second season would be granted if the show received a million hits on its website during that time, which it did. Notable guests included Albert Hammond Jr., Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, John Krasinski, Bob Odenkirk, Michael Showalter, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Ted Leo, Corn Mo, Todd Barry, Matt Higgins, Zach Galifianakis, Morningwood, Mastodon, Tapes 'n Tapes, The National, Tim and Eric, and Tegan and Sara.

Reunion

In late May 2010, Aziz Ansari announced on his website that he, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, and Jason Woliner had filmed a new sketch for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, which Ansari was scheduled to host. The sketch, titled "Stunt Kidz," featured Huebel and Ansari's Shutterbugs characters running a child stunt agency where children perform dangerous stunts and are injured. Paul Scheer played a director who hires them. This marked the first time the group filmed a new sketch together since the series ended.