Giants (web series)

Giants is an American web series created by James Bland and starring Bland, Sean Samuels, and Vanessa Baiden as the lead characters. The series premiered on Issa Rae's YouTube channel on January 25, 2017. A second season premiered on the same channel in 2018. Both seasons were financed by crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo. It has since been acquired and released for streaming on BET+.
The series has won numerous accolades, including two Daytime Emmy Awards, a Streamy Award, and multiple Indie Series Awards. The series was profiled by "Forbes" and has received praise for its depiction of mental illness in the African American community.
Plot.
"Giants" chronicles the journey of three African American friends as they approach their thirties, each battling their own inner "giants" as they navigate adulthood.
Background.
Bland worked on several other series before writing "Giants", and following the success of Issa Rae's "Awkward Black Girl", he felt inspired to make his own series:At the same time, Issa Rae was producing "Awkward Black Girl". That show confirmed to me that it was time to take control and tell the stories I wanted to tell, but I wasn't ready yet. It took me a number of years to reach the place where I found the courage to tell the fullness of my story.After writing the first season, Bland created an Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund the series. Rae and actor Jussie Smollett subsequently came on board as executive producers. After the release of the second season, also on Issa Rae's YouTube channel, "Giants" was acquired and released for streaming on BET+ in 2020.
Accolades.
"Giants" has won numerous accolades. In 2018, the series won the award for Best Drama Series at the 8th annual Streamy Awards. In 2019, the series received 11 Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning two. At the 10th annual Indie Series Awards, "Giants" won a record-breaking seven awards, in addition to receiving the most nominations that year (19).