Hollywood has never shied away from remakes and reboots, especially when it comes to horror, but lately there have been a string of high-profile examples. Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series for Prime Video and Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel, Crystal Lake, are two very recent ones. Now HBO is adding to its prestige genre portfolio with another take on a classic property, landing the new limited series adaptation of The Birds.
The project is led by Sarah Snook, the Emmy-winning star of HBO hit Succession, and it was first announced earlier this year. The addition of HBO to the series, which will take inspiration from the 1952 Daphne du Maurier story and the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film adaptation, is news that comes to us today from Deadline.
This spin on the tale sounds completely new, which isn’t entirely surprising, since the characters and setting of the source material and movie are fairly different (though of course they share the whole avian attack thing). The new version has a pilot written by executive producer Tom Spezialy, whose own HBO credits include The Leftovers and Watchmen. Another executive producer, David Heyman, has the same role on HBO’s Harry Potter series.
This version of The Birds is described by the trade 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).”
Initially, there are True Detective: Night Country (also an HBO show) vibes, at least until you get to the second half of the description: “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.”
With HBO aboard, it seems assured that any special effects needed to create those frenzied feathers will be of the highest quality, poised to spark fresh phobias among all who tune in. As they should! We’re excited to see HBO add to its horror roster with The Birds, especially with new seasons of The Last of Us and It: Welcome to Derry on the way too.
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