Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is getting a reimagining in the form of a limited series and Sarah Snook is set to star. More on that below. Nature fought back against humanity in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds back in 1963 and has only grown in relevance since its release, so it’s not surprising a new adaptation ... A limited series of The Birds in the works with Sarah Snook starring
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is getting a reimagining in the form of a limited series and Sarah Snook is set to star. More on that below.
Nature fought back against humanity in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds back in 1963 and has only grown in relevance since its release, so it’s not surprising a new adaptation of the bird-tastic tale is in the works.
Deadline now reports that the story is getting a new take with a limited series, written by Tom Spezialy and produced by David Heyman’s Heyday Television. Sarah Snook has been attached to star and the show will go back to Du Maurier’s story rather than strictly adapting the Hitchcock classic.
“We’re going back to the source material, the Daphne du Maurier novella and using that as inspiration,” Sue Gibbs, of Heyday Television, said. “And at its heart, it’s looking at when nature turns on you. Obviously, with climate change that is very timely.”
In the film’s Tippi Hedren’s Melanie found herself at the mercy of the birds, but in this version of The Birds, Snook will play Myra Massey, a much more independent lead.
Deadline describes the new series as “a visceral, present-day reimagining” and had this ot say about its plot: “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.”
Du Maurier’s original story was set in Cornwall, but apparently the new series is still keen on keeping the action in the United States, but transferring the drama from California to Alaska.
There’ve been multiple attempts to make birds scary again with a sequel or a remake of The Birds, but they’ve all failed to make it to the screen. Naomi Watts was once attached to a film remake and Heyday Television was also working on a series adaptation in 2007 for BBC, but both projects never materialised.
