Much like Amazon and Netflix, Hulu is also pulling out all the stops in hopes of competing for that almighty streaming dollar. While Amazon is out there spending hundreds of millions on major intellectual properties like “The Lord of the Rings” and Netflix is spending a fortune on ensuring that major creative talent comes aboard, Hulu is hoping to catch up to these giants and build off the success of “The Handmaid’s Tale” with yet another prestige series with some major talent.
Deadline is reporting that veteran actor Hugh Laurie is joining the Hulu series “Catch-22,” which is starring (and directed by) George Clooney. Laurie, who has previously worked with Hulu on the series “Chance,” is joining “Catch-22” in an unknown role. The World War II-set series is based on the classic novel of the same name by author Joseph Heller and follows Captain John Yossarian, an Air Force bombardier, who attempts to maintain his sanity while also fulfilling his service requirements, which would allow him to go home.
READ MORE: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Is A Superb, Necessary Show For 2017 (And For Hulu) [Review]
Clooney plays Colonel Carthart, in addition to his role as director. He’ll be directing the series with Grant Heslov, a long-time Clooney collaborator and director of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” and Ellen Kuras, who is an award-winning cinematographer. “Catch-22” is written by Luke Davies, best known for “Lion” and David Michôd, who wrote “Animal Kingdom” and “War Machine.”
“Catch-22” marks the latest TV series for Hugh Laurie, who, as mentioned above, just finished his series with Hulu. The veteran British actor is perhaps best known to American audiences as playing the lovable curmudgeon Dr. House on the popular Fox series “House.” That series, which ran for 8 seasons, made Laurie a household name.
There’s no word on when this six-episode adaptation will see its release, but with the talent signed on for the show, it looks like Hulu might have another series to compete with Netflix and Amazon.