# Catch-22 (2019)

> A wartime bombardier on a Mediterranean island battles bureaucratic absurdity and his own fear as he tries to get home alive.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/70660

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama, war
- Created by: Luke Davies, David Michôd
- Network: Hulu
- Cast: Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler, Daniel David Stewart, Tessa Ferrer, Lewis Pullman, Rafi Gavron, George Clooney, Graham Patrick Martin
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5056196/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: darkly comic, sardonic, bleak, absurdist, tense

## What critics say

Audiences rate this six-episode adaptation of Catch-22 positively, praising its sharp satire of military bureaucracy and its committed ensemble cast.

## Synopsis

Catch-22 (2019) is an American six-episode limited series adapted from Joseph Heller's novel, created by Luke Davies and David Michôd for Hulu. Christopher Abbott plays bombardier John Yossarian, a World War II airman who wants nothing more than to survive his missions and return home, while Kyle Chandler plays the grasping Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of flights his men must fly. Daniel David Stewart plays the scheming Milo Minderbinder, who turns the base's war effort into a profit venture, and George Clooney appears as the rigid Scheisskopf. Each episode follows the squadron's absurd logic, where incompetence and paperwork constantly block a man's escape from danger, and the story builds on the frustration of trying to stay sane inside a machine that rewards cruelty. Set in 1940s southern Italy on a fictional island base, the series blends farce with the sudden shock of air raids and combat losses. Its tone is sardonic and bleakly comic, with a quiet undercurrent of dread. Fans of M*A*S*H, Dr. Strangelove and Band of Brothers will find resonance in its mix of satire and wartime grit.

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