Ben Stiller joins Gary Shteyngart TV project

Ben Stiller has signed on to executive produce and direct a television adaptation of “Super Sad True Love Story� by Gary Shteyngart, according to Deadline. The 2010 novel was a bestseller the Los Angeles Times found to be “hilarious and sad.�

Set in a the near future, “Super Sad True Love Story� follows Lenny Abramov, a balding, outmoded 39-year-old and the object of his affection, Eunice Park, a young and hip Korean American.

Abramov, who works for an eternally youthful boss, is ill-suited for their tech-obsessed, fast-moving world. When Park sees him reading, it’s as disturbing as if she’d caught him watching porn. “I was so embarrassed,� she writes. “I just stood there and watched him read which lasted for like HALF AN HOUR, and finally he put the book down and I pretended like nothing happened.�

The Hollywood Reporter said the series will be a one-hour dramedy. It is being produced by Media Rights Capital, which created “House of Cards� for Netflix. Shteyngart co-created the adaptation with Karl Gajdusek; the two will co-write the script and be executive producers.

Shteyngart posted the news on Facebook, writing, “Super excited to have the awesome Ben Stiller on board for Super Sad True Love Story: The Series! Wooooohooooooo!�

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