George Clooney Returns to TV to Lead and Direct New ‘Catch-22’ Series
Add another name to the ranks of Hollywood A-listers dipping a toe in TV. George Clooney will return to the medium that made him famous to both star in, and direct a new limited series adaptation of Joseph Heller novel Catch-22.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new adaptation written by Lion alum Luke Davies and War Machine writer David Michod lacks an official network as of yet, but is produced by Paramount Television and Anonymous Content. Clooney will direct all six episodes, as well as take the role of Colonel Cathcart. The full story is outlined below:
Catch-22 is set in Italy during World War II and tells the story of Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier trying to fulfill his service requirements so he can go home. The novel explored the paradox of requirements where airmen who felt mentally unfit to fly were not obligated to do so, but anyone who applied to stop flying was sane enough to fly, creating the catch-22 of its title.
The novel was previously adapted for a film in 1970 with stars Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Art Garfunkel and Bob Newhart. Clooney, meanwhile, hasn’t been back to TV since the days of ER, which followed early appearances in Roseanne and The Facts of Life.
Someone’s likely to snap up the series for a pretty penny before long, so stay tuned for more on Clooney’s Catch-22.
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