Sarah Snook to Star in HBO's The Birds Limited Series

Sarah Snook, who won an Emmy for playing Shiv Roy in HBO's Succession, will star in a new HBO limited series based on The Birds. Deadline reported the casting on 27 October 2026.

A limited series is a show with a fixed number of episodes and a set ending, rather than one that runs season after season. HBO has acquired the project for development, meaning the idea is still being written and shaped before the network commits to making it.

The version in development is a present-day reimagining set in Alaska. It is a murder mystery, and Snook plays a new lead character, Myra Massey. The story takes its inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film and from Daphne du Maurier's novella, both titled The Birds.

Universal Global Television took on the project in summer 2026, which means it bought the rights to develop it. Universal Pictures made the 1963 film and, with the du Maurier Estate, still holds rights to the title. Universal Global Television will act as co-studio with HBO, sharing the work of making the show.

The project has been in development at Universal Global Television, and at its predecessor UIS, for more than a year. Earlier attempts to bring The Birds to screen did not happen. A 2007 feature remake starring Naomi Watts, directed by Martin Campbell, was not made, and neither was a 2017 BBC series written by Conor McPherson.

Tom Spezialy wrote the pilot, the first episode used to test whether a show should go ahead. He previously executive produced HBO's Watchmen and The Leftovers. David Heyman, who executive produces HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series, is also on the team. Heyman runs Heyday Television, a joint venture with Universal Global Television.

Spezialy, Snook, Heyman, Danny Samit and Jennifer Gabler Rawlings are listed as executive producers. Executive producers oversee a show's creative direction and budget. Heyday Television and Omni Artists are producing the series.

Snook has worked with Universal before. She starred in All Her Fault, a limited series for Peacock, the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal. Her Emmy came in 2023, after three earlier nominations for Succession.

Nothing has yet been announced about when the series will air or how many episodes it will have.