Hulu Orders ‘Catch-22’ as Six-Part Original Series

Hulu has confirmed a series order for “Catch-22,” a six-part limited series event from George Clooney, Paramount Television and Anonymous Content based on one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century. Clooney will portray Colonel Cathcart, and will direct the series alongside his Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov. The series will go into production in 2018.

“Catch-22” will be executive produced by Clooney and Heslov on behalf of Smokehouse Pictures, along with Richard Brown and Steve Golin on behalf of Anonymous Content. Luke Davis and David Michôd are attached as co-writers and executive producers for the series.

Based on Joseph Heller’s seminal novel of the same name, “Catch-22” is the story of the incomparable, artful dodger, Yossarian, a US Air Force bombardier in World War II who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to avoid his military assignments, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule which specifies that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers which are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind; a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but a request to be removed from duty is evidence of sanity and therefore makes him ineligible to be relieved from duty.