Sarah Snook to star in HBO’s The Birds limited series, relocated to Alaska

Not sure anyone was betting on The Birds making a TV comeback, but here we are. HBO is developing a fresh take on the classic avian horror, and they’ve brought in Sarah Snook—just off the back of Succession—to headline this limited series. It’s not a remake of the Hitchcock film, exactly, but a proper reinvention with a new setting, a new main character and, of course, an alarming number of murderous birds.

From Bodega Bay to Alaska

For this go-round, they’ve shifted the action from sunny California to — of all places — present-day Alaska. Snook plays Myra Massey, who’s attempting to put the pieces back together after a pretty nasty custody battle. She’s returned home with her daughter, supposedly for a bit of a reset, but naturally, things go totally sideways. There’s a crime to solve, a friend gone missing under suspicious circumstances, and, as if that wasn’t enough, a barrage of inexplicable and deadly bird attacks. Less therapy retreat, more ‘run for your life’.

The official synopsis teases Snook’s character trying to shield her daughter from the dual threats of a local murderer and the town’s increasingly unhinged birds—who, in a neat twist, are somehow tied up with the crime at the heart of it all. Apparently blame-shifting isn’t only for humans.

Who’s Bringing the Birds Back?

Behind the scenes, you’ve got Tom Spezialy (who’s been involved with both HBO’s Watchmen and The Leftovers, so he’s not exactly a stranger to weird, existential TV) as writer and producer. David Heyman is producing through Heyday Television—the same Heyman who’s working on HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series. Snook herself is also on board as executive producer, alongside Jennifer Gabler Rawlings and the usual tangle of Universal studios: Universal Global Television are co-producing, while Universal Pictures, of course, did the original film for Hitchcock. Spezialy, for what it’s worth, is apparently setting the story in his actual home state.

Worth noting, this won’t just draw from Hitchcock’s iconic scare-fest. It also tips its hat to Daphne du Maurier’s original 1952 novella—the one that kicked off the whole 'flocks gone fierce' genre in the first place.

The Birds limited series brings a new lead character and a murder mystery, reworking the horror classic for twenty-first-century Alaska.

Failed Flights: A Brief Histories List

Now, if you think you’ve heard this idea before, you’re not wrong. Hollywood’s been trying (and failing) to get a Birds remake or reboot off the ground for years. Here’s a quick rundown of the ones that never quite made it out of the nest:

• In the mid-2000s, there was a feature film remake brewing, with Naomi Watts attached and Martin Campbell set to direct. That one shuffled through at least three directors—Dennis Iliadis, then Diederik Van Rooijen—and Michael Bay’s company Platinum Dunes was on board. The whole thing crashed before cameras rolled.
• 2017: the BBC tried to get a Birds series going, to be written by Irish playwright Conor McPherson—he’d already done a stage adaptation of du Maurier—and produced by (look who’s back) David Heyman. That version would’ve been set in post-war Cornwall, going back to the original short story, but it never took off either.

The point is, loads have tried to update The Birds and nearly all have failed. So HBO, Snook, and the current crew are hoping third (or fourth, or fifth) time’s the charm.

That Hitchcock Legacy

A brief reminder for anyone who’s never been menaced by seagulls: Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds released in 1963, starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, and Suzanne Pleshette. It’s a nervy suspense film broadly inspired by du Maurier, focusing on a wealthy socialite’s trip to a small California town, where—unexplained and increasingly vicious—birds begin attacking humans in droves. The lack of explanation is what makes it stick; the result is an odd, off-kilter horror that’s been imitated to death but rarely matched for sheer paranoia. As for follow-ups, there was a made-for-TV sequel (The Birds II: Land’s End) in 1994. Nobody talks about it—mainly because it was an absolute turkey, critically panned and then some.

Now it’s Sarah Snook's turn, and with HBO and Spezialy in play, there’s at least a decent shot this version won’t crash and burn before it hits the screen.