Universal Cable Productions has signed an overall development deal with the Alfred Hitchcock estate to bring a re-imagining of his classic tales back to the small screen.

UCP is teaming on the project with Vermilion Entertainment, the newly formed TV production company from the founders of Cross Creek Pictures, along with Oscar-nominated producer Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures/Ocean Blue Entertainment. This marks Vermilion’s first project for scripted television.

In the works is Welcome to Hitchcock, described as an inspired take on the master filmmaker’s unique brand of storytelling that encompassed such iconic stories as The Birds, Psycho and the popular television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The new anthology series will focus on a single season-long mystery or crime in the spirit of the classic Hitchcock style and legacy. The studio plans to continue collaborating with the Hitchcock estate to design a series “that will entertain Hitchcock enthusiasts and entice an entirely new generation of fans.”

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Columbus, Oscar-nominated producer Michael Barnathan, Timmy Thompson and Todd Thompson will serve as executive producers along with the Hitchcock family. Columbus will direct the pilot. Emmy winner Casey Tebo will serve as co-producer.

“Long after his death, Alfred Hitchcock continues to be one of the most celebrated directors and visionaries in the world, a master manipulator of the macabre,” said Dawn Olmstead, EVP Development at Universal Cable Productions. “We’re honored that the Hitchcock estate has put its trust in our studio to pay homage to his work.”

“Our grandfather always collaborated with the best and the brightest to help shape his vision,” said Katie O’Connell-Fiala on behalf of the Hitchcock Trust and MTK Corporation, which was founded by O’Connell-Fiala and her sisters, Mary O’Connell-Stone and Tere O’Connell-Carrubba. “We’re confident that Universal Cable Productions will take great care in helping us to continue preserving his legacy.”

Just as the original series utilized prominent directors from Hitchcock himself to George Stevens Jr., Arthur Hiller, Stuart Rosenberg, Robert Stevenson and Robert Altman, the new anthology series will seek out premiere filmmakers and talent to pay homage to the spirit of Hitchcock’s style and legacy.