When The Shards Premieres on FX and Hulu

On August 5, 2026, The Shards premieres on FX and Hulu, with production by Ryan Murphy. The series brings to the screen the autofiction thriller by the writer of Less Than Zero and American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis, set in 1980s Los Angeles.

The Plot of The Shards: Serial Killer and Adolescence in Los Angeles

The series follows Bret (Igby Rigney), an aspiring writer whose high school life begins to disintegrate when the arrival of a new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), coincides with the growing terror of the Trawler, a serial killer stalking teenagers across the Valley.

Bret's imagination intertwines with the relationship with his girlfriend Debbie (Hayes Warner) and friends Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber) and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell). The group faces senior year of high school in the culture of excess fueled by wealth and drugs of Los Angeles private schools, while the adults around them - Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Liz Schaffer (Evan Rachel Wood) and Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth) - further compromise their youth.

The Development of the Series: From HBO to FX

In April 2023, Ellis had announced the development of the series for HBO, with Luca Guadagnino as director. In January 2025, the project was interrupted due to creative differences, after Kristoffer Borgli had signed on to direct. In February 2025, Ryan Murphy took over the project for a different network.

In May 2025, FX initiated development with Max Winkler directing. The series is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television, with Murphy, Ellis and Winkler as executive producers alongside Nick Hall, Kathleen McCaffrey, Michael Uppendahl, Brian Young, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Filming took place between November 2025 and March 2026.

The Original Music of The Shards

In July 2026, it was revealed that Troye Sivan and his collaborator Leland contributed to the original music of The Shards alongside Oscar Görres and the series star Hayes Warner.

Recent Projects of the Cast and Production

Ryan Murphy has recently produced Love Story, The Beauty and All's Fair, confirming his prolificacy in the television landscape. Wes Bentley has worked on Yellowstone and the movie Horizon: An American Saga, while Evan Rachel Wood appeared in Westworld through the fourth season. Kaia Gerber, after her debut in American Horror Stories, participated in Bottoms and Palm Royale. Igby Rigney, seen in Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club by Mike Flanagan, finds in The Shards his most relevant role.