Clooney Makes Long Awaited Return to TV With “Catch-22”

“Catch-22” fans rejoice: according to a recent press conference this past Monday in Rome, George Clooney’s newest project, currently available to Hulu subscribers in the U.S, will now be available on Sky Atlantic starting May 21.

George Clooney in 'Catch 22' Credit: Philipe Antonello via Digital Spy

George and Amal Clooney at the Catch 22 Premiere in Rome

The “Catch-22” miniseries based on the 1961 Joseph Heller novel of the same name, starring Clooney, Christopher Abbot, and Hugh Laurie, is about fictional Captain John Yossarian, a U.S Army Air Forces bombardier during World War II, who is based on the Tuscan island of Pianosa.

The storyline is largely based on the phrase “Catch-22,” which is often used to describe a difficult situation in which an individual cannot escape due to conflicting limitations.

When speaking about the miniseries, Clooney, who plays Lieutenant Scheisskopf, explains how the story focuses on the “insanity” of war, which is shown through main character John Yossarian (portrayed by Abbot) finding himself in a conflicting situation due to the fact that in order to be released from the Army, he must keep up with the added amount of missions being assigned to him, and the only way out of it any earlier is to prove his insanity and inability to work, which can only be done by admitting insanity, which inherently proves his sanity in the eyes of the Army.  

George Clooney, who directed two of the six episodes in the miniseries, has spoken excitedly of the project that will mark his 20-year return back to television, proudly explaining that the series is based on “a story that can be current at any moment in history.”

Critics have already been expressing their thoughts on the series, with Rolling Stone’s Alan Sepinwall acknowledging the adaptation’s dramatic “anti-war” perspectives, while admitting that, in his perspective, the series had come up short on the satirical humor Heller’s novel is famous for. Meanwhile, Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the series is “a winning combination of satire, madcap bombast and, most important, deep existential angst” experienced by main character Yossarian.

The Hulu series has also received an 84% approval rating from famously critical site “Rotten Tomatoes,” with a rare positive consensus from reviewers. Overall, it seems that the Hulu venture was a success, and has audiences prepared for its debut on Hulu on May 17 and on Sky Atlantic on May 22.