July 11, 2017 - 14:37 AMT
“Eggplant Emoji” comedy taps “Tour de Pharmacy” mockumentary helmer

Jake Szymanski, who directed HBO's just-aired mockumentary Tour de Pharmacy, will helm The Eggplant Emoji for Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, the creators of digital animated series Gentlemen Lobsters, wrote the script for the ballsy project, which has Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock producing via their Red Hour Films banner.

Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, Anders Holm and Kyle Newacheck, the creators and stars of the hit Comedy Central show Workaholics, are also producing the dark comedy.

The plot is throbbing with comedic potential: When a teenager accidentally cuts off his penis during a camping trip, he and his friends rush to save the appendage before it's too late. The intent is to make a comedy in the vein of Superbad, the 2007 film that focused on friendship but was loaded with insane situations and R-rated language.

Szymanski made his feature debut with last year's Zac Efron comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, but established his comedy credits with numerous Funny or Die and Saturday Night Live shorts. He also directed the tennis mockumentary 7 Days in Hell.

Tour de Pharmacy premiered Saturday on HBO and features an all-star cast (Andy Samberg and Orlando Bloom are among the names) as it skewers doping in the world of cycling.