Catch 22 To Get TV Adaptation, and George Clooney will Direct and Star

Catch 22 is one of those novels everyone tells me I should read, but despite many (7 to date) attempts, I can’t get past page 100. So I for one am absolutely thrilled to hear there is to be a serialised adaptation of the black comedic satire that has become the most famous anti-war book ever written.

We haven’t seen Clooney on the small screen since ER, nearly twenty years ago but with Catch 22 he’ll not only star in the six episode series but he’ll be directing it too! Clooney won’t be taking the star role, he’ll be playing Yossarian’s commander, Colonel Cathcart.

The series will begin filming in early 2018 for Viacom Inc’s Paramount Television and Anonymous Content but has not yet been acquired by a network, according to sources for The Guardian. The show has been co-written and executively produced by Luke Davies and David Michod. To date, no other cast members have been confirmed and it’s not known who will play the anti-hero Yossarian.

Catch 22 is set in Italy after WWII and is considered to be one of the finest anti-war novels ever written. Described by many as hilariously funny, and dark, it isn’t linear at all. As explained earlier in the piece, it’s a ‘did not finish’ for me, and I always have trouble working out what the heck is going on when I read it. That in mind, I can’t wait to see how the book will be represented on the small screen and whether it might be easier to understand!

Catch 22 US
Catch 22 UK

The novel coined a phrase still used today to describe a paradoxical situation where every choice is impossible. Catch 22 author Joseph Heller coined the phrase to describe Yossarian’s predicament as the only way for him to avoid missions is to declare insanity, but by indicating unwillingness to embark on these dangerous missions, he must demonstrate a rational sane mind.

We’ll be watching this news closely, and we’ll be back with more when we know a little more about the production and cast.