The trades are reporting that a new limited series based on The Birds is in the works for HBO, with Succession star Sarah Snook set to play the lead.
The show will be inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic chiller, which was itself only loosely based on Daphne du Maurier’s novella of the same name.
The official synopsis reads:
“Escaping a bitter custody battle, Myra Massey (Snook) returns home with her young daughter, secretly probing a childhood friend’s suspicious disappearance. With a killer on the loose and personal threats mounting, Myra fights to protect her daughter against a terrifying new menace: vicious, deadly bird attacks inexplicably tied to the crime.”
Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Watchmen) penned the pilot and will executive produce, with David Heyman and Danny Samit also on board as executive producers for Heyday Television. Snook will executive produce alongside Jennifer Gabler Rawlings. HBO will co-produce with Universal Global Television, with the rights to The Birds controlled by Universal Pictures and the du Maurier estate.
The original story was first published in 1952, with Hitchcock’s feature version arriving in theaters in 1963. The movie is still widely viewed as one of the legendary director's finest films, and is famous (or infamous) for its ambiguous ending and a terrifying scene in which star Tippi Hedren was forced to shoot with live birds when the mechanical ones stopped working.
From Hedren's memoir (via British Vogue).
"It took me several seconds to pick my jaw up off the floor. They were using live birds for this final apocalyptic scene?! I trusted the expertise of our trainer Ray Berwick 100 percent, but not even the greatest trainer in the world could control every move an animal makes, especially when it’s under stress. Resigned and determined, I finished getting ready and walked out on the set to find a cage built around the bedroom door.
All around the inside of the cage were huge cartons of ravens, doves, and a few pigeons. I refused to look at Hitchcock as I crossed the set to my mark inside the door and braced myself for whatever was in store for me. I heard Hitchcock yell, 'Action!' and right on cue, the handlers began hurling those live birds at me. It was brutal and ugly and relentless.
Cary Grant, one of Hitch’s favorite leading men, happened to be visiting the set that day and told me between takes, 'You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever seen.' I was never frightened; I was just overwhelmed and in some form of shock, and I just kept saying to myself over and over again, 'I won’t let him break me. I won’t let him break me.'”
Snook won an Emmy for her role as Shiv Roman on Succession, and was also nominated for Peacock’s All Her Fault.