What’s new on your TV
George Clooney returns to series in ‘Catch-22’; ‘Restored by the Fords’ season two debuts in March
The Joseph Heller satirical novel “Catch-22” has been adapted previously, most notably the 1970 Mike Nichols film, and actor/director George Clooney said he initially rejected the idea of acting in and directing a remake.
“Mike and I were friends and … [remaking it] seemed ridiculous; it’s a beloved novel,” Mr. Clooney said.
But the scripts by Luke Davies and David Michod persuaded him and producing partner Grant Heslov to get on board.
“[In a television series] you get to spend time with the characters like a book does,” Mr. Clooney said. “They found a way to interpret it in a way we didn’t think was even possible.”
Hulu’s six-episode, limited series “Catch-22” (May 17) follows Yossarian (Christopher Abbott, “Girls”), a World War II U.S. Air Force bombardier who comes upon contradictory military rules. He’d be considered insane if he continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but opting out proves he’s sane, which makes him ineligible to escape combat. In addition to directing episodes, Mr. Clooney plays the serious Col. Cathcart.
Writer Luke Davies (“Lion”) said he took a specific approach to adapting — kaleidoscoping — a novel that “jumps all over.”
“I spent nine months in a room just trying to work out what happened in the novel in order,” he said. “My first task was to work out the events. The second was to try to write it with truth and loyalty to the source material but allow both the darkness and the hilarity to stand on their own.”
‘Restored’ gets premiere date
HGTV’s “Restored by the Fords,” featuring the brother-sister team of Leanne and Steve Ford restoring Pittsburgh homes, will be back for its second season at 9 and 9:30 p.m. March 19.
Steve, a licensed contractor, asks Leanne, an interior designer, to design
Steve’s bachelor pad in a 1940s warehouse space near Downtown.
A new digital series, “Ford Family Classics,” will feature the siblings reviewing their childhood home movies beginning March 21 at HGTV.com and on HGTV’s YouTube channel.
‘Dance Moms’ films locally
Abby Lee Miller, star of Lifetime’s “Dance Moms,” is back in Pittsburgh filming an eighth season of “Dance Moms” at her dance studio.
Now titled “Dance Moms: Resurrection,” the show premieres at 8 p.m. June 4 on Lifetime with an hour devoted to Miller’s physical and emotional struggles while undergoing chemotherapy and learning to use her legs again.
Miller was sentenced to prison in May 2017 for a year and a day for hiding $775,500 worth of income and bringing $120,000 in Australian currency into the U.S. without reporting it. After her release from prison in 2018, Ms. Miller was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The new “Dance Moms” season — the first two episodes air back to back at 9 p.m. June 4 after the catchup special — introduces a new cast of eight dancers and their moms, including one male dancer.
“I need to get back to Pittsburgh,” Miller says in a trailer for the new season. “I need to get back to teaching. And I need to get back to screaming at children. I need to get back to my roots.”
Kept/canceled/ordered
Disney Channel ordered “Zombies 2,” a sequel to an original cable movie that premiered a year ago.
Premium cable outlet Epix ordered the six-part drama “Belgravia,” written by “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes and based on his 2016 novel about secrets and dishonor in the upper echelon of 1800s London society.
Epix also ordered a sixpart docuseries based on Slate’s “Slow Burn” podcast with season one looking back on the Watergate crisis and its parallels to the present.
CBS renewed “Mom” for two seasons, Fox did the same for “The Simpsons,” keeping both shows in production through the 2020-21 TV season.
History will bring back “Project Blue Book” for season two.
Lifetime has greenlit a sequel to its hit 2018 movie about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal,” which will feature a new cast, chronicles the royal couple’s first year as newlyweds.
“Running Wild With Bear Grylls” relocates from NBC to National Geographic Channel for a new season to air in December.
Nat Geo ordered a series adaptation of Tom Wolf’s “The Right Stuff” with the first season beginning in 1958 and following the advent of the Mercury 7 astronauts. TBS has scrapped plans for a revival of Michael Moore’s “TV Nation.”
Nat Geo will no longer devote its next installment of “Genius” to “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley, pivoting to a season about singer Aretha Franklin that will be produced by SuzanLori Parks (“Topdog/Underdog”) and will air in 2020.
Starz canceled “Counterpart” after two seasons.
Channel surfing
Premium cable network Epix has launched a $5.99 per month subscription streaming service, Epix Now, which requires no cable service. … “Warrior,” a new series about a hatchet man for a San Francisco Chinese organized crime family from “Banshee” showrunner Jonathan Tropper, debuts at 10 p.m. April 5 on Cinemax. … BBC America will produce natural history series “Frozen Planet II” for 2021 and “Planet Earth III” for 2022. … Former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, fired by CBS following accusations of sexual misconduct (relationships he says were consensual), has started a new company, Moon Rise Unlimited, that will focus on “entertainment services,” per The New York Times.
Post-Gazette TV writer Rob Owen is attending the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Follow RobOwenTV at Twitter or Facebook. You can reach him at 412-263-2582 or rowen@post-gazette.com.