HBO is developing a limited series inspired by The Birds, with Sarah Snook attached to star and a creative direction that already invites skepticism.
Written and executive produced by Tom Spezialy, the project moves the story to present-day Alaska and introduces a murder mystery. An earlier comment from Heyday Television executive Sue Gibbs offers another indication of its priorities: an explicit interest in climate change.
That raises a familiar question about Hollywood’s treatment of recognizable properties. Will the adaptation develop its themes through compelling horror, or will the famous title become a vehicle for contemporary messaging?
Sarah Snook Leads A New Version
According to Deadline, HBO has taken the project into development, with Spezialy writing the pilot. Snook will also executive produce alongside a team that includes David Heyman.
The latest premise follows Myra Massey, played by Snook, as she escapes a bitter custody battle and returns to her hometown with her young daughter. There, she investigates a childhood friend’s suspicious disappearance as deadly bird attacks become inexplicably connected to the crime. HBO has not announced a premiere date.
Sarah Snook in Succession – HBO, YouTube
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The setup could support a television thriller. Whether the custody dispute and criminal investigation strengthen The Birds, however, is another question. A murder mystery invites viewers to expect answers, while much of the terror in Hitchcock’s film comes from a threat that resists explanation.
A Climate Change Angle Raises Questions
When Deadline first reported the project in May, it revisited comments Gibbs made at SXSW London in June 2025.
“We’re going back to the source material, the Daphne du Maurier novella and using that as inspiration,” she said. “And at its heart, it’s looking at when nature turns on you. Obviously, with climate change that is very timely.”
Her remarks suggest that environmental messaging is part of the adaptation’s creative framework. They do not establish that climate change will explain the attacks, but the emphasis on topical relevance gives skeptical viewers something concrete to question.
The Birds (1963) – MGM Studios
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Nature turning hostile already supplies a frightening premise. Reducing that uncertainty to a familiar lesson about humanity’s environmental failures could make the story more predictable, regardless of how urgently its creators regard the message.
Hitchcock, however, took considerable liberties himself. Du Maurier’s 1952 story was set in Cornwall, while his 1963 film moved the action to Bodega Bay, California, and introduced different central characters. A new setting and protagonist do not automatically betray the material.
The more meaningful question is whether the changes preserve its unsettling power.
Spezialy’s Credits Invite Scrutiny
Spezialy previously executive produced HBO’s Watchmen and serves as an executive producer on the upcoming Blade Runner 2099. The latter has already prompted debate over its brighter, sunlit imagery and its departure from the male-led stories of the two theatrical films, with Hunter Schafer, a biological male who identifies as female, and Michelle Yeoh taking the central roles.
Those choices do not establish the series’ quality, but they have added to arguments about how substantially a continuation can change a franchise’s presentation while retaining its identity.
A clip from Watchmen – HBO Max
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Watchmen remains another divisive reference point. As Geeks + Gamers reported, Lanterns writer Vanessa Baden Kelly cited negative reactions to that series while defending the possibility that viewers might hate her own show.
Audience hostility was only part of Watchmen’s reception. Its finale improved on its premiere audience, and HBO reported substantial cumulative viewership. Those results deserve acknowledgment alongside the backlash to its creative choices, even if its lasting cultural impact remains open to debate.
Spezialy’s résumé cannot predict how The Birds will turn out. It does, however, place another recognizable property in the hands of a producer associated with divisive adaptations.
Viewers Are Already Making Lanterns Comparisons
Replies to DiscussingFilm’s announcement on X illustrate the skepticism, with commenters invoking complaints that Lanterns held back its superhero spectacle.
Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns – HBO, DC Studios
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“Bodies keep getting found. It’s not until the last episode that we see the birds attack. Something something patriarchy,” one wrote.
@DiscussingFilm Bodies keep getting found. It’s not until the last episode that we see the birds attack.
Something something patriarchy
— Proxima Centauri (@NOYK1847) October 28, 2026
Another joked: “Final episode will end with an egg just starting to crack. Cut to black.”
A third questioned the adaptation’s identity: “If it’s modern-day, and in Alaska, and about a murder mystery, then it may be good, but it will not be ‘The Birds’”
These comments express expectations, rather than judgments of a finished series. Still, they identify a challenge HBO will have to overcome: convincing viewers that its version delivers the horror promised by the title, rather than stretching a familiar premise around another prestige crime drama.
Do you think HBO’s approach can deliver a compelling version of The Birds, or do these changes already give you reservations? Sound off and let us know!
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