Catch-22 (Season 1)

Catch-22 (2019) is a six-episode Hulu miniseries you can watch online on iFILM, adapted from Joseph Heller's landmark satirical novel. George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Ellen Kuras shared the directing duties; Clooney also took the role of General Scheisskopf, while Christopher Abbott plays bombardier John Yossarian and Kyle Chandler is the self-serving Colonel Cathcart.

Yossarian is an American airman stationed on a tiny island off the Italian coast in 1944. He wants one thing: to survive the war. Every time he comes close to finishing his tour, Cathcart raises the required number of missions. Applying for a discharge on grounds of insanity won't work either — under Catch-22, asking to be grounded proves you're sane enough to fly. Around Yossarian, a cast of officers treat the war as a business opportunity and an administrative puzzle rather than a source of death.

Heller published the novel in 1961 and the phrase entered the language. The show is more faithful to his non-linear structure than earlier screen versions: the same scenes replay at different points in the narrative, accumulating new meaning each time. Clooney keeps the visual palette warm and beautiful — which is exactly the point, a sun-drenched Italy that keeps forgetting it's also a killing ground. Stream all episodes of Catch-22 online on iFILM.