One of Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous horror movies is getting new life, this time as a TV series. The movie in question is 1963’s The Birds, which came out more than 60 years ago yet remains an effectively chilling tale. Now though, it’s going to be reimagined for modern audiences as a limited series.
See also: The Top 10 Films of the 1960s That Actually Scared Boomers As Children
According to Deadline, The Birds is being shopped as we speak as a limited series with Sarah Snook (Succession, All Her Fault) set to star. Tom Spezialy (The Leftovers, Watchmen) is on board to write it. Universal International Studios is producing, which makes sense given that Universal Pictures was behind the original movie. No word yet on where the project will end up but it’s said to be going out to buyers currently.
The original centers on a woman named Melanie Daniels who meets Mitch Brenner in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him home. She brings two love birds and they strike up a romance. One day, birds start attacking children at a party, blossoming into an all-out assault on the town from a whole bunch of angry birds. Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Tippi Hedren starred.
This new take is said to be “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).”
Naturally, any time someone touches Hitchcock’s work, it’s going to be subject to great scrutiny. Gus Van Sant famously remade Psycho in shot-for-shot fashion, which is rarely discussed in a positive light. At the same time, it sounds like all involved intend to do something a little different this time around, using The Birds branding as a way in.
It’s certainly not the first time a horror classic has made the jump from the big screen to television. Mike Flanagan’s Carrie TV series is coming our way this fall, as one example. We’ve also got the Friday the 13th TV show Crystal Lake on the way. It's easy to see why this would be an attractive prospect for a streaming service or major cable network. We’ll see how it shakes out but it sounds like it’s relatively early days right now.
The Birds TV show doesn’t have a release date but stay tuned.
