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'The Leftovers' alum Tom Spezialy is adapting Daphne du Maurier's novella, which previously inspired a 1963 film by Alfred Hitchcock.
October 27, 2026 12:29pm
HBO has pecked picked up a limited series project based on The Birds for development.
Sarah Snook is attached to star in the drama, an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s story and the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film based on the book. Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Ash vs. Evil Dead) is writing The Birds and executive producing with Snook and David Heyman (the Harry Potter franchise). The Birds is a co-production of Universal Global Television, which began shopping the series to potential buyers in the summer, and HBO.
The Birds also marks a return to HBO for Snook, who won an Emmy for her role as Shiv Roman on Succession. She was also an Emmy nominee this year for Peacock’s All Her Fault, which was produced by Universal Global TV predecessor Universal International Studios.
Just as Hitchcock’s movie was a loose adaptation of du Maurier’s story, the potential series is as well. It will center on Myra Massey (Snook), who is coming off a custody battle and takes her daughter to her home state of Alaska, where she also looks into a childhood friend’s 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,” the show’s description reads in part.
Spezialy will executive produce with Snook; Heyman and Danny Samit of Heyday Television, a joint venture with Universal Global TV; and Jennifer Gabler Rawlings of Omni Artists. Universal Pictures, which released the Hitchcock film, and the du Maurier estate own the rights to The Birds.
Deadline first reported the news.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter · Rick Porter
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