WIGS is a web channel, part of the

YouTube Original Channel Initiative The YouTube Original Channel Initiative was a $100 million program funded by Google in 2012 to bring original content onto YouTube. The original channel initiative was also meant to kick start Google TV. The channels are collectively known as "or ...

. It presents

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s and

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

about the lives of women. WIGS targets a female audience. Most videos are around five to ten minutes in length. The channel was co-created by

Jon Avnet __NOTOC__ Jonathan Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director, writer and producer. Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avnet (a global distributor ...

, producer of ''

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

'' and ''

Risky Business ''Risky Business'' is a 1983 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Paul Brickman (in his directorial debut) and starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. It follows the sexual exploits of high school senior Joel G ...

'', and Rodrigo Garcia, who directed ''

Albert Nobbs ''Albert Nobbs'' is a 2011 period drama film directed by Rodrigo García (director), Rodrigo García and starring Glenn Close. The screenplay, by Close, John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, is based on the 1927 novella ''Albert Nobbs'' by George ...

'' and ''

In Treatment ''In Treatment'' is an American drama television series for HBO, produced and developed by Rodrigo García (director), Rodrigo Garcia, based on the Israeli series ''BeTipul'' (), created by Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan and Nir Bergman. The series fol ...

''.

History

Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia developed and wrote a handful of series and recruited writers and directors such as

Lesli Linka Glatter Lesli Linka Glatter (born July 26, 1953) is an American film and television director. She is best known for her work on the AMC (TV channel), AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' and the Showtime (TV network), Showtime series ''Homeland (TV series), Hom ...

Rose Troche Rose Troche (; ; born 1964) is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Troche was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up on the north side of Chicago. In an interview she stated ...

, Amy Lippman,

Marta Kauffman Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known for co-creating the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane; Crane and Kauffman similarly were in a friend group ...

, and

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role at age 15 in '' I Love You, I Love You Not'' (1996), ...

, to direct projects for the channel. They have recruited actors such as

Jennifer Beals Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''My Bodyguard'' (1980), before receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Alexandra Owens in ''Flashdance'' (1983), for which she won NAACP Image ...

Jena Malone Jena Laine Malone (; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Sparks, Nevada, Malone spent her early life there and in Las Vegas, while her mother acted in local theater productions. Inspired to become an actress herself, Malone ...

Troian Bellisario Troian Avery Bellisario (born October 28, 1985) is an American actress and filmmaker. The daughter of producer Donald P. Bellisario and actress Deborah Pratt, she first appeared in her father's film ''Last Rites'' (1988), at age three. After g ...

, and

. WIGS officially launched on May 14, 2012. The channel's first season includes 100 episodes of short films, series and documentaries. "Jan," written and directed by Jon Avnet, was the first series released by WIGS. While the channel's tagline "Where it gets interesting" does not fully match the acronym WIGS; on their website, the words "Where It Gets . . ." are used to begin to describe each series, and the last word is changed. For example, for the first series, "Jan," the tagline is, "Where It Gets Spicy." On February 19, 2013,

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

announced the launch of an event series and multiplatform programming department and a multiyear partnership with WIGS. The multiyear programming, marketing and distribution pact with WIGS was intended to serve as an incubator for original content that can be programmed on Fox or other networks. WIGS will fall under Fox's Shana C. Waterman's purview. In May 2013, WIGS celebrated its first anniversary and combined viewing figures of over 33 million. The channel was at that point YouTube's number one channel for scripted drama. Beginning in June 2013, WIGS released seven of its series ("Blue," "Lauren," "Jan," "Christine," "Ruth & Erica," "Audrey," and "Vanessa & Jan") on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

under the FOX banner. The series were recut into fewer, longer episodes for the new medium. In September 2013, WIGS announced that "Blue" would return for a 3rd season, adding

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'' (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

and

Alexz Johnson Alexzandra Spencer Johnson (born November 4, 1986) is a Canadian musician and actress. Known for her distinctive sound since her debut in 2010, her first album, ''Voodoo'', was independently released with her brother, Brendan Johnson. Over the ...

to the cast.

Series

The channel features series that follow the lives of different women. The stories include a poker player on a losing streak, a mother with a secret life and one that follows a woman on a series of speed dates. Many of them follow a woman's professional life, romance, war, or family structures.

Awards and accolades

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.watchwigs.com YouTube channels YouTube-funded channels American companies established in 2012