Sarah Snook is heading back to HBO, with the Succession Emmy winner attached to star in and executive produce The Birds, a limited series inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film and Daphne du Maurier’s novella.

HBO has taken the project into development after Universal Global Television brought it to the market. Tom Spezialy, whose HBO credits include Watchmen and The Leftovers, wrote the pilot and will executive produce.

Rather than recreating the earlier story character for character, the proposed series is described as a present-day reimagining built around a murder mystery. Snook would play Myra Massey, a new female protagonist whose return home places her at the center of both a suspicious disappearance and a wave of deadly bird attacks.

A New Mystery Takes Flight

The story begins with Myra trying to escape a bitter custody battle. She travels home with her young daughter while secretly investigating the unexplained disappearance of a childhood friend.

Her search unfolds with a killer at large and increasingly personal threats closing in. Myra must protect her daughter as vicious birds begin attacking, with the inexplicable assaults connected to the crime she is attempting to uncover.

The creative team brings together several figures with existing HBO connections. Spezialy and Snook are joined as executive producers by David Heyman and Danny Samit through Heyday Television, Heyman’s joint venture with Universal Global Television. Jennifer Gabler Rawlings of Omni Artists will also executive produce.

Heyman is an executive producer on HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series. Spezialy previously executive produced Watchmen, sharing in that show’s 2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series, and also served as an executive producer on The Leftovers. More recently, he executive produced the upcoming Prime Video series Blade Runner 2099, a television follow-up to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

Universal Global Television, part of Universal Studio Group, will serve as a co-studio with HBO. Universal Pictures, its sibling movie studio, produced the 1963 feature and holds the title rights alongside the Du Maurier Estate. Another television sibling, Universal Television, produces HBO’s period drama The Gilded Age.

Another Attempt to Revisit The Birds

The limited series had been in development at Universal Global Television and its predecessor, UIS, for more than a year. It is also the latest in a line of efforts to return to The Birds that did not previously reach the screen.

A feature remake was announced in 2007 with Naomi Watts attached to star and Martin Campbell set to direct. A separate BBC series followed in 2017, with Irish playwright Conor McPherson named as its writer. Neither project came to fruition.

The HBO version distinguishes itself through its contemporary setting, original central characters and crime-driven storyline. Its limited-series format also puts Snook at the center of a self-contained new interpretation rather than positioning the project as a direct recreation of the 1963 movie.

Snook’s HBO Return

Snook received three Emmy nominations for playing Shiv Roy on HBO’s Succession, winning in 2023. Her involvement in The Birds would reunite her with the network while expanding her role behind the scenes as an executive producer.

She most recently starred in Universal Global Television’s Peacock limited series All Her Fault, earning another Emmy nomination. Her other honors include a Tony Award for The Picture of Dorian Gray and the 2025 AACTA Best Actress Award for the Oscar-nominated animated feature Memoir of a Snail.

ShowBiz Take

The Birds arrives with a recognizable title, but the details revealed so far suggest HBO’s project is not relying solely on familiarity. The combination of a new protagonist, a custody conflict, a missing-person investigation and bird attacks linked to a crime gives the limited series its own dramatic framework.

Snook’s return adds another significant HBO connection, while Spezialy and Heyman bring their own established relationships with the network. Just as importantly, the project remains in development. Earlier attempts announced in 2007 and 2017 never came to fruition, making HBO’s next steps the key test for whether this version of The Birds will finally make it back to the screen.