Entertainment studio American High faced the same hardships as all of Hollywood when the Writers Guild of America strike commenced, halting all productions. To combat the nearly 5 month strike, they got creative and formed what is now known as American High Digital - an "SNL style" viral sketch comedy network that produces daily content across all social platforms. American High Shorts, the digital comedy series from American High Digital, creates short-form relatable comedic videos centered around high school themed stories and distributed across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Its distinct style combines humor with heartfelt moments, generating content that engages a wide online audience.
The goal was to reimagine traditional production in an ever-evolving media landscape, focusing on developing consistent, high quality, digestible and sharable content, while building a dedicated creative team and profitable business model.
The execution centered on short-form comedy that reflects the lived experiences of Gen Z audiences. American High Shorts emerged as a flagship series, producing high school–inspired sketches that balance humor with emotional authenticity. Designed for mobile viewing and social sharing, the content was distributed across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, allowing the network to rapidly grow its audience and test creative concepts in real time. A rotating ensemble of emerging performers and writers ensured fresh perspectives while fostering a collaborative creative culture.
A key challenge was sustaining growth during a period of industry and economic uncertainty. This was addressed by developing a commercially viable model that paired original storytelling with strategic brand integrations. Partnerships with major global brands including the NFL, Southwest Airlines, Madison Square Garden, Kinder, KAYAK American Eagle, and John Deere supported expansion into a 20+ person operation.
American High's four channels including American High Shorts has garnered more than 8 billion views with over 11 million combined followers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. Many American High Shorts sketches have reached between 20-95M+ views each on YouTube generating a viral content house with a massive Gen Z following. The award-winning sketch comedy series often transitions its digital stars into American High feature films, creating a community driven casting pipeline and unifying element for fans of the entertainment studio.
