‘The Birds’ Limited Series Starring Sarah Snook Lands at HBO

We last discussed a series based on Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds back in May. Now, Deadline reports that the project has landed at HBO.

The high-profile package has Emmy winner Sarah Snook (pictured above in Run Rabbit Run) attached to star and Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Watchmen) writing.

The Birds limited series is described as a visceral, present-day reimagining of Hitchcock’s classic set in Spezialy’s home state of Alaska with a murder mystery at the center and new characters, led by a new female protagonist, Myra Massey (Snook).

Inspired by the film and Daphne du Maurier’s short story it was loosely based on, The Birds introduces traveling magistrate Myra Massey (Snook) as she returns to her isolated Alaskan hometown for a routine presumptive death hearing, expecting a simple cold case. Instead, she finds her childhood friend’s bullet-ridden body. When Myra is forced to step outside her role as judge to untangle the mystery, nature itself turns hostile with a wave of bird attacks. Now, Myra isn’t just trying to close a case, she’s fighting to survive in a place where death lurks in both the shadows and the skies.

It comes from Universal International Studios, whose sibling movie studio Universal Pictures produced the 1963 feature, and Heyday Television, producer David Heyman‘s joint venture with UIS.

After nearly two decades in development limbo, a remake of The Birds has passed through multiple studios, writers and formats without reaching production: first announced a feature remake in 2007 with attached to star and set to direct from scripts by , , and , while producer became involved through ; that version stalled, then resurfaced in 2014 with Dutch filmmaker and a new screenplay by , only to disappear again. By 2017–18, the project had effectively transformed into a planned television adaptation of ’s original story, with playwright writing and producer overseeing development, but that incarnation also failed to advance.