The Birds, one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous horror movies, is coming to the small screen with a brand new adaptation that has officially found a home at HBO.
Starring Sarah Snook (Succession, All Her Fault), The Birds limited series is written by Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Watchmen).
Described as a “visceral, present-day reimagining” of Hitchcock’s 1963 classic, The Birds takes place in Alaska and centers on a murder mystery, led by a new female protagonist, Myra Massey (Snook):
Escaping a bitter custody battle, Myra 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.
The original The Birds, based on Daphne du Maurier’s novella, centers on a woman named Melanie Daniels who meets Mitch Brenner in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him home. She brings two love birds and they strike up a romance. One day, birds start attacking children at a party, blossoming into an all-out assault on the town from a whole bunch of angry birds. Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Tippi Hedren starred in the pic, which went on to inspire everyone from John Carpenter to Lucile Hadžihalilović.
According to Deadline, Universal Global Television is producing The Birds, while Spezialy and Snook executive produce alongside David Heyman (the upcoming Harry Potter series) and Danny Samit via Heyday Television.
Should it come to fruition, The Birds series will be the first successful reboot of the film following a planned but ultimately scrapped 2007 remake starring Naomi Watts, and a 2017 BBC series that suffered a similar fate.
The Birds will be the latest classic horror title to make the jump from feature to series following Mike Flanagan's Carrie and A24's Crystal Lake, both of which have been a hit with viewers this year. Stay tuned for more on The Birds as we get it.
