The Birds is getting another chance to take flight on television. HBO has picked up the limited series starring Sarah Snook (Succession) for development, according to a report from Deadline. The project reimagines the classic horror story as a present day murder mystery set in Alaska, with a new protagonist facing both a deadly crime and inexplicable bird attacks.
The series comes from writer and executive producer Tom Spezialy, whose credits include HBO’s Watchmen and The Leftovers, alongside producer David Heyman, whose current projects include HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series. Universal Global Television is also involved, with its sibling studio Universal Pictures having produced Hitchcock’s original 1963 film.
What Is The Birds Limited Series About?
Deadline describes the series as a “visceral, present day reimagining” of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, set in Spezialy’s home state of Alaska. Snook plays Myra Massey, a new protagonist at the center of a story combining a suspicious disappearance, a murder mystery, and terrifying attacks by birds.
Escaping a bitter custody battle, Myra (Snook) returns home with her young daughter, secretly probing a childhood friend’s suspicious disappearance. With a killer on the loose and personal threats mounting, she fights to protect her daughter against a terrifying new menace: vicious, deadly bird attacks inexplicably tied to the crime.
Spezialy wrote the pilot and will executive produce alongside Snook, Heyman and Jennifer Gabler Rawlings of Omni Artists. Heyman and Danny Samit will produce through Heyday Television, Heyman’s joint venture with Universal Global Television. Universal Global Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, will serve as a co-studio with HBO.
Although the project is inspired by Hitchcock’s film, the new series also draws on the
The Birds Has a Long History of Failed Remake Attempts
The HBO development deal marks another attempt to bring The Birds back to screens after several earlier projects failed to reach production.
One of the best-known efforts was a planned feature film remake that emerged in the mid-2000s. Naomi Watts was attached to star, with Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) set to direct. The project went through multiple iterations, with Dennis Iliadis (The Last House on the Left) later attached to direct before Diederik Van Rooijen (The Possession of Hannah Grace) took over at a subsequent stage. The remake, which would have been produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, ultimately fell apart.
A separate television adaptation was announced by the BBC in 2017. That project was to be who had previously adapted du Maurier’s story for the stage, and produced by David Heyman. Rather than remaking Hitchcock’s movie, the planned series was expected to draw more directly from du Maurier’s original story, set in post-World War II Cornwall. That version also failed to come to fruition
Now, Heyman is once again involved in an attempt to adapt the material for television, this time with Spezialy, Snook and HBO.
Revisiting Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 Horror Classic
Released in 1963, Hitchcock’s The Birds stars Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette. The film follows wealthy San Francisco socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she visits a small Northern California town, where birds suddenly begin attacking people without any clear explanation.
Based loosely on du Maurier’s novella, the film became one of Hitchcock’s most enduring works of suspense and horror. Its unnerving atmosphere and escalating attacks helped make the unexplained threat at the heart of the story especially effective. A made-for-TV sequel, The Birds II: Land’s End, was released in 1994, but it was widely panned.
Now, The Birds is in development at HBO, with Sarah Snook attached to star. As Deadline reports, the project joins a lengthy line of attempts to revisit the property, but this time, it has landed at a network with a history of working with both Snook and Spezialy. Are you looking forward to this one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
