George Clooney’s ‘Catch-22’ Sells to Asia and Australia (EXCLUSIVE)

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Catch-22” has caught the interest of several big-name global buyers. Chinese streaming platform iQiyi, Australian SVOD service Stan, and are among the latest to acquire the Hulu adaptation of Joseph Heller’s novel, which is produced by and stars George Clooney.

Paramount’s TV distribution unit struck the new deals for the series, which will air on Channel 4 in the U.K., Canal Plus in France , and Sky in Italy. has now added Kiwi pubcaster TVNZ and Scandinavian pay-TV platform C More to the roster of buyers, in addition to the Australia, China and pan-Asia deals.

“‘Catch-22’ exemplifies high-quality, premium content featuring a stellar cast and an incredibly talented creative team behind it,” said Dan Cohen, president of worldwide television licensing at Paramount Pictures. “We’re delighted to be bringing this compelling series to audiences worldwide as we continue to find great support internationally and increase sales.”

Clooney stars alongside Christopher Abbott (“First Man”), Kyle Chandler (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Hugh Laurie (“The Night Manager”), and Giancarlo Giannini (“Casino Royale”) in the series.

The World War II-set adaptation of Heller’s classic 1961 novel will run to six episodes. It is produced by Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures.

Clooney, Heslov and Ellen Kuras (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) each directed two episodes. Clooney and Heslov exec produced alongside Anonymous Content’s Richard Brown (“True Detective”) and Steve Golin (“Spotlight”).