A brand-new comedy series, reuniting three of the stars from What We Do In The Shadows, has been optioned by local production house Augusto. From co-creators Cori Gonzalez-Macuer and Louis Mendiola, the series will be directed by comedy genius Jemaine Clement and executive produced by Oscar-winning Taika Waititi.

Ass centres on a depressed (and broke) puppeteer who reluctantly accepts to work with his ex-fiancée and former puppeteer-partner on a top-secret gig in which they must fill-in for a famous donkey actor on the wildly popular American TV political comedy, Hey Donkey!, after the superstar animal goes mysteriously missing.

Cori Gonzalez-Macuer commented: “I've worked on a few things over the years, but this project feels like it's actually going somewhere. It's an awesome combination of working with Louis, a production company that is actually investing in us and now with Taika and Jemaine involved, it’d be pretty weird if we f****ed it up.”

The pilot script for Ass was recently highlighted by Hollywood website The Black List following extraordinary ratings from film industry executives. The project has received much international attention, with Auckland and New York-based production company Augusto winning the option rights to develop and produce the project. The series will be produced by Daniel Story and Cass Avery.

Daniel Story, Executive Producer at Augusto commented: "We're excited to be working with such an amazingly talented team to bring Ass to life. The pilot script is inventive and hilarious - we look forward to progressing it into production and distribution as soon as possible."

Louis Mendiola, co-creator for Ass added: "This has been such an incredible ride for Cori and me. From being shortlisted for the Sundance Episodic Lab, to being endorsed by The Black List, and then getting to develop the series with this dream team, it's just been bonkers, in all the best ways."

Discussions are underway with US showrunners and VODS regarding Ass’ distribution, with production plans for next year.

Cori Gonzalez-Macure and Louis Mendiola are managed by Silver Lining Entertainment. Jemaine Clement is represented by UTA. Taika Waititi is represented by CAA.