Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is probably the first “horror” movie I ever saw, and I have a very intense memory of watching this terrifying thing with my mom back in the ’70s. It’s one of those experiences I’ve never revisited, because even though I was just three, it is forever embedded in my brain. Now, HBO is going to make me go back, as they’re planning to turn this iconic film into a limited series.
I just know my curiosity will get the best of me.
HBO is developing this new limited series inspired by the legendary horror film with Succession star Sarah Snook attached to lead the cast. The Leftovers and Watchmen writer and executive producer Tom Spezialy is developing the project.
The series will put a contemporary spin on the story made famous by Hitchcock’s 1963 film, drawing inspiration from both the movie and Daphne du Maurier’s original 1952 story. Rather than simply repeating the events of the film, this version introduces new characters and a murder mystery set in present-day Alaska.
Snook will play Myra Massey, a traveling magistrate who returns to her isolated Alaskan hometown for what she expects to be a routine death hearing. Instead, she discovers that a childhood friend has been murdered. As Myra investigates, a wave of unexplained bird attacks turns the case into a fight for survival.
The official description promises a story in which Myra must confront a killer while trying to protect herself and those around her from the increasingly dangerous birds. The new series brings the familiar threat of nature turning against humanity into a crime story, with the attacks tied to the mystery at the center of the plot.
Hitchcock’s The Birds arrived in theaters in 1963, starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor. The film follows a woman whose visit to a California coastal town takes a terrifying turn when birds begin attacking residents without an obvious explanation. Its unsettling atmosphere and refusal to provide an easy answer for the attacks helped make it one of Hitchcock’s best-known films.
Du Maurier’s original story, published in 1952, also centers on people struggling to survive as birds launch increasingly violent attacks. The HBO project will draw from both versions, giving Spezialy room to explore the premise through a different setting and a new central character.
Spezialy will write the pilot and executive produce the series. David Heyman, the producer behind the Harry Potter film franchise and HBO’s upcoming television adaptation, is also attached as an executive producer. Snook will executive produce alongside Danny Samit, while Jennifer Gabler Rawlings is also on board as an executive producer.
The project comes from Universal Global Television and Heyday Television, with HBO attached as a co-production partner. Universal Pictures and the du Maurier estate control the rights connected to the original film and story.
This is not the first attempt to bring The Birds back to the screen. A proposed feature-film remake announced in 2007 had Naomi Watts attached to star, but it never came together. A separate BBC television adaptation was announced years later and also failed to reach the screen.
For now, HBO’s version remains in development, and the network has not announced a premiere date or additional casting. With Snook attached and Spezialy at the helm, the project offers a new opportunity to revisit a horror premise that has endured for decades.
