When most filmmakers think about their next production, they scout for the perfect location. Jeremy Garelick bought one.
In 2017, the screenwriter-turned-director behind The Break-Up and The Wedding Ringer purchased a decommissioned high school in Liverpool, New York, for a million dollars. The idea sounded absurd: transform it into a permanent film set for high-school comedies. But for Garelick, the math made sense. Every script he read repeated the same sluglines: interior classroom, hallway, gym.
“I wondered, could you shoot two movies at once? Then three?” Garelick recalls. “If you just owned the school, you could control everything, the sets, the schedule, the cost.”
That single decision became the foundation for American High, a production company that’s since created over 20 films and built a viral comedy brand reaching millions daily. From its historic brick hallways, the company now produces both feature films (through a Hulu partnership) and short-form digital sketches that define a new era of scripted internet comedy.
A Studio-Startup Hybrid
At first glance, American High looks like a traditional indie studio. But its internal structure feels closer to a tech startup.
Axelle Azoulay, who leads the short-form division known as American High Digital and its sister channel Barely Adult, describes a “block system” of content creation. Each month, the team films 50 to 70 sketches over five days, releasing them daily across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
“It’s like Gen Z SNL,” Azoulay says, smiling. “We brainstorm Mondays, write Tuesdays, film Wednesday through Friday. Two weeks on, one week off. It keeps everyone sharp, and funny.”
The approach is both relentless and sustainable. American High’s cast lives in company-owned houses near the Syracuse set, rotating through the same collaborative cycle that made shows like Saturday Night Live or Key & Peele legendary. But here, the system has been optimized for speed, scale, and algorithmic success.
Azoulay recruits many of her comedians from Syracuse University’s drama and stand-up communities, where she once studied herself. “I just went door to door, from classrooms, open mics, TikTok accounts, finding people who made me laugh,” she says. “Now they’re getting their 10,000 hours of comedy right here.”
Building a Comedy Factory
When Garelick and his team bought the A.V. Zogg School, they faced a bureaucratic surprise: the property was zoned strictly for educational use, not film production. Instead of fighting the rule, they embraced it.
“They said, ‘You’re not a school,’ and I said, ‘We are now,’” Garelick laughs. “We started a trade-school partnership with Syracuse University and other local colleges, offering film internships and real-world production experience.”
That pivot not only solved a zoning problem, it built a pipeline. Many early interns, including Azoulay, now run the creative operation. The company even launched a Syracuse U course titled Writing the High School Comedy, extending American High’s influence into academia.
The result is an ecosystem where education, comedy, and production collide. A place where filmmakers learn by doing and actors graduate into creators. Syracuse locals have started referring to the studio as “Hollywood North of I-90.”
The Business of Funny
Despite its playful image, American High is a model of capital-efficient creativity. The company’s physical footprint doubles as a scalable content engine: all sets, costumes, and props from past films remain on site, instantly reusable for sketches. “Hospitals, classrooms, homes, we already have them,” says Azoulay. “That built-in production value is our secret weapon.”
Garelick sees his role as balancing art and economics. “It’s about timing, cash flow, and chemistry,” he explains. “We’re growing fast, so we invest whatever comes in straight back into new talent and content.”
The hiring process mirrors a sports team draft. Garelick compares it to a baseball roster, complete with a “starting five” and rotating guest performers. “Sometimes a guest crushes it, and we bring them back full-time. It’s about who’s pitching great today.”
This meritocratic, performance-driven structure has allowed American High to expand while maintaining a distinct voice.
From Syracuse to Everywhere
What began as a filmmaking experiment has evolved into a cultural force. At Syracuse University, students now cite American High Digital as one of the reasons they applied. The studio’s characters and running gags have become part of campus life.
Today, American High stands at the intersection of education, entertainment, and entrepreneurship, a factory for funny ideas and a case study in how creative industries can be re-engineered.
“Comedy is culture’s R&D department,” Garelick says. “If we can build a place where people can experiment, fail, and grow, all under one roof, then we’re doing something bigger than just making sketches.”
For now, that roof happens to be a century-old schoolhouse in upstate New York. Inside, the bell rings not for class but for action.
