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Clooney will direct and star in the six-episode
series, based on U.S. author Joseph Heller's darkly comedic 1961
novel "Catch-22," for Viacom Inc's Paramount Television and
Anonymous Content, shooting in early 2018, the studio said.
The show has not yet been acquired by a network for distribution
but is likely to draw eager bidders given Clooney's involvement.
"Catch-22" follows a U.S. soldier named Yossarian during World
War Two, who is infuriated that his own army keeps raising the
number of missions that a soldier must complete to be released
from duty. Yossarian's only way to avoid the missions is to
declare insanity, but the only way to prove insanity is a
willingness to embark on dangerous missions, thus creating the
novel's absurd 'catch-22.'
Clooney, 56, will play Yossarian's commander, Colonel Cathcart.
No other cast has yet been announced.
The actor's move to television comes on the heels of
Oscar-winning stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman,
Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas, who have all
taken on small screen projects in recent years.
More than 400 scripted TV shows are currently produced every
year in the United States across traditional broadcast and cable
networks and services such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and newcomer
Apple, contributing to what many have said is 'a new golden age'
of television.
Clooney broke out as an actor on television series such as "The
Facts of Life," "Roseanne" and as part of the original cast of
medical drama "ER" in 1994, playing Dr. Doug Ross. He left "ER"
in 1999 and since then has carved a successful career with films
such as the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise, "Up in the Air" and
"Gravity."
He most recently directed and co-wrote Paramount Pictures' dark
comedy-thriller "Suburbicon."
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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