Kyle Chandler Takes George Clooney’s Role in Hulu’s Catch-22 Limited Series

Emmy winner Kyle Chandler will now play the self-serious Colonel Cathcart in Hulu’s forthcoming six-part limited series Catch-22, as the streamer announced on Friday. As previously announced, Academy Award winner George Clooney was playing the role of Cathcart but decided to put his focus more on his behind-the-scenes duties. In order to do that, Clooney has taken on a smaller role in the limited series.

Based on Joseph Heller’s 1961 political war satire novel of the same name set during WWII, the story follows the experiences of Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bombardier, along with other airmen who struggle to stay sane amid bogus requests and service requirements so that they may one day return home.

Christopher Abbott (It Comes at Night, Girls) stars as Yossarian with Hugh Laurie recently joining the cast as Pianosa squadron executive officer Major de Coverley. Clooney will now play the ambitious, sadistic, humorless and inept cadet school training commander Scheisskopf. He makes the men’s lives miserable, and has a strange obsession with parades and winning parade tournaments. Having never before been sent overseas, he’s made Head of Operations for the entire Mediterranean Theater and therefore put straight back into Yossarian’s life.

Chandler won an Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2011 for his role as Coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights and has since starred in the Oscar-winning films Argo with Ben Affleck, Zero Dark Thirty with Jessica Chastain and Manchester by the Sea with Casey Affleck. He also starred in the Oscar-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Carol with Cate Blanchett. He most recently starred in Netflix’s Bloodline, receiving two Emmy nominations for his lead performance. Currently he can be seen in Game Night with Rachel McAdams and he can next be seen in the forthcoming Damien Chazelle-directed Neil Armstrong biopic First Man opposite Ryan Gosling and Godzilla: King of the Monsters with Millie Bobby Brown.

Catch-22 will be executive produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov on behalf of Smokehouse Pictures, along with Richard Brown and Steve Golin on behalf of Anonymous Content. Luke Davies and David Michôd are co-writers and executive producers for the series. Clooney will still direct the series with Heslov. Ellen Kuras will serve as producer and direct two episodes.