Just when you thought it was safe to throw breadcrumbs in the park, Hollywood is getting ready to ruin avian creatures for a whole new generation. A high-profile limited series reimagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 masterpiece, The Birds, is officially taking flight. Emmy winner Sarah Snook (Succession, Run Rabbit Run) is attached to headline the series, which is currently being pitched to top-tier networks and streaming services, Deadline reports.
Universal International Studios and Heyday Television are spearheading the project. Premium television veteran Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Watchmen) will write and showrun the madness.
From Bodega Bay to the Frozen Tundra
If you’re expecting a shot-for-shot remake, guess again. The feathered fury is heading to Alaska. And it’s said to be visceral, modern, and distinctly darker. It follows Myra Massey (Snook), a traveling magistrate, as she returns to her isolated Alaskan hometown for a death hearing. Expecting a simple case. Myra instead discovers that her childhood friend’s dead body.
When Myra is forced to untangle the town’s web of secrets, the local wildlife decides to revolt. Nature itself turns violently hostile, unleashing an organized, relentless wave of bird attacks. Suddenly, Myra isn’t just trying to close a homicide file. She’s also trying to avoid getting her eyes pecked out in a frozen wasteland where death literally drops from the sky.
Re-nesting a Classic
Hitchcock’s original 1963 classic was famously adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 novella. The franchise did spawn a famously terrible, mostly forgotten 1994 television sequel, The Birds II: Land’s End, which was so bad that director Rick Rosenthal stripped his name from it. This new iteration has the creative pedigree actually to do the source material justice.
Snook’s talent, paired with Spezialy’s proven track record of writing bleak, existential dread (The Leftovers), makes this one horror/thriller fans will not want to miss! Keep your eyes on the skies, buy some heavy-duty umbrellas, and check back for more news on “The Birds” soon. Here’s a look back at the trailer for the original film.
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