George Clooney to Star in ‘Catch-22’ TV Series

Clooney will also direct the series.

November 17, 2017 10:38 am
George Clooney
George Clooney attends a premiere for "Suburbicon" on day 3 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Toronto. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

George Clooney is set to star and direct a limited series based on the novel Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, reports The Hollywood ReporterThe Oscar winner and Emmy nominee will play Col. Cathcart.

The six-episode project will be produced by Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, but does not have a network yet. It is co-written by Luke Davies and David Michod and will be shopped next month.

Catch 22 was originally adapted into a Paramount feature film directed by Mike Nicols in 1970. In 1973, Richard Dreyfuss starred in an ABC half-hour pilot produced by Paramount Television, but it never went forward, reports The Hollywood Reporter. 

Catch 22 is set during World War II in Italy, and it follows Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier who is trying to complete his requirements so he can go home. The novel dug into the contradictory idea that 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, writes The Hollywood Reporter. 

Catch 22 marks Clooney’s return to television following his Emmy-nominated run on NBC’s ER. He was also in Memphis Beat, Roseanne, Sister, and The Facts of Life, among others. He is well-known for his movies, such as Argo, Up in the Air and The Descendants. He has directing credits including Suburbicon, which he also wrote and produced, The Monuments Men, the Ides of March, Good Night, and Good Luck, and many more.

Paramount Television is also behind Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and the upcoming Emma Stone and Jonah Hill starrer Maniac, as well as TNT’s The Alienist. Anonymous Content recently extended its first-look deal with Paramount Television through 2019, reports The Hollywood Reporter. 

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