Kyle Chandler has had a memorable presence on the small screen over the years thanks to roles on Friday Night Lights and Netflix's Bloodline. He's been absent from TV since Bloodline came to an end in 2017, but that's set to change thanks to a new project that will team him up with none other than George Clooney. Chandler has joined the cast of Hulu's Catch-22 adaptation, set during World War II, and he'll tackle a role formerly intended for Clooney himself.
In Catch-22, Kyle Chandler will play Colonel Cathcart, who is a full Colonel in the United States Air Force who takes himself and his job very seriously. Cathcart has no problem making the men under his charge miserable and should serve as the antagonist of the series, if it follows the narrative of the original novel written by Joseph Heller. George Clooney was originally slated to play Cathcart on Catch-22, but fans don't need to worry that the recasting means Clooney will be absent in front of the camera. He will now tackle a different role.
With Kyle Chandler playing Colonel Cathcart, George Clooney will play a character by the name of Scheisskopf, who is more minor than Cathcart but still not exactly a friend to the protagonists of Catch-22. Scheisskopf is a training commander in California, tasked with preparing cadets for work in the Air Force. Obsessed with the glory of parades and coming out victorious in parade tournaments, his ambition is a key quality that results in a lack of humor, an overabundance of anger, and a sadistic streak made all the worse by his incompetence.
We probably won't see as much of George Clooney as Scheisskopf as we would have if he continued playing Cathcart, but Kyle Chandler is a solid choice to replace him. That said, Clooney will be in the thick of the action as Scheisskopf after he's sent overseas to become to Head of Operations for the whole Mediterranean Theater in World War II. Clooney will also still be heavily involved in the series, as he's on board as an executive producer and director as well.
In addition to Kyle Chandler as Colonel Cathcart and George Clooney as Scheisskopf, Christopher Abbott of The Sinner has been cast as leading man Yossarian and Hugh Laurie of House and Chance fame will play Major de Coverley. Assuming the series follows the events of the book, Catch-22 will tell the story of U.S. Air Force bombardier Yossarian who hates his job and is furious with the Air Force for constantly increasing the number of missions bombardiers must fly to be sent home. Although he wants to be removed from dangerous duty, he constantly runs into the Catch-22 rule that states even though a man must be insane if he willingly flies into potentially suicidal situations, he must be perfectly sane and fit for duty if he knows that he's flying into potentially suicide situations.
We may have a while to wait before Catch-22 makes its Hulu debut with Kyle Chandler and George Clooney, so be sure to check out our midseason TV premiere schedule and summer TV premiere guide for what you can watch while we wait.
