George Clooney returning to TV in Catch-22 adaptation

George Clooney is returning to the small screen for the first time in eight years to star in and direct a new TV adaptation of Catch-22.

The 1961 satirical novel by Joseph Heller will be adapted by writers Luke Davies (Lion) and David Michôd (War Machine) into a six-part television series.

Catch-22 tells the story of Yossarian, an US bomber pilot in World War II. It revolves around the paradoxical rules of the time, which dictated that airmen who felt mentally unfit to fly did not have to do so, however anyone who applied to stop flying was deemed sane enough to continue.

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The novel has been adapted before, into a 1970 movie starring Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin and Bob Newhart. In the forthcoming TV series, Clooney will step into Balsam’s shoes to play Colonel Cathcart, the ambitious and ruthless officer in charge of Yossarian’s squadron.

Catch-22, which has not yet been attached to a network, will be the Oscar-winner's first TV role since ER ended in 2009.

Clooney’s directing credits include The Ides of March, The Monuments Men and Suburbicon, which hits UK cinemas on 24th November and stars Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.