TV Show - The Shards - Ep 1 & 2 (2026)

Premiere: Aug 5, 2026
Country of origin: USA
Directors: Ryan Murphy, Michael Uppendahl, Max Minghella
Creators: Ryan Murphy, Bret Easton Ellis
Production Companies: 20th Television, Ryan Murphy Television
Genre: Drama, Coming-of-Age, Mystery, Thriller
Episodes: 9
Runtime: 45 min per episode
Starring: Igby Rigney, Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere, Hayes Warner, Graham Campbell

“When you talk to me, you're really talking to yourself.”

The Shards is a story that draws heavily from the author's own life while presenting itself as fiction.

Bret Easton Ellis is an American author born in Los Angeles in 1964. He published his first novel, Less Than Zero, in 1985, followed by books including The Rules of Attraction (1987), American Psycho (1991) and eventually The Shards (2023). His work has often focused on wealthy young people, alienation, excess and the darker side of American culture.

Personally, my main introduction to Ellis has been through the wonderful film adaptation of American Psycho. The Shards first appeared as a podcast project (2020), which I sadly have not listened to, nor have I read the novel.

The Shards takes us back to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, following a group of privileged teenagers whose seemingly perfect world begins to develop cracks.

Spoiler warning: From this point on, I will be discussing most of Episode 1.

The first episode introduces us to a group of teenagers entering their senior year at an elite high school in Los Angeles in 1981.

 

At the center of it all is 17-year-old Bret Easton Ellis, a sophisticated and unusually self-aware aspiring writer who seems to think he has the world figured out.

  

Publicly, he is dating Debbie Schaffer, while privately he has a relationship with Matt. There is the person everyone around him sees, then there is the person he keeps hidden.

Susan Reynolds is an influential student who is deeply involved in the school as student president. Along with her boyfriend Thom Wright, they represent the perfect high-school couple, the kind of people who seem to have everything figured out.

Then Robert Mallory arrives.

 

Almost immediately, Bret becomes fascinated by him. There is something about Robert that does not sit right with Bret. His arrival begins to disturb the relatively controlled world we have just been introduced to.

At the same time, the series introduces a much darker element. Los Angeles is being terrorized by a serial killer known as The Trawler, whose murders are presented with an unsettling theatricality. The killer does not simply murder his victims. Their bodies are arranged and displayed, creating a disturbing mystery that hangs over the story.

Then there are these strange phone calls.

All of this creates an interesting contrast. The narration has a fascinating attention to detail. Brands, clothes, the way a shirt fits and even the cars people drive are described with an almost unusual precision. It reminded me a lot of the distinctive way Patrick Bateman observes the world in American Psycho.

We are not simply watching a murder mystery set in 1981. We are being introduced to a very specific version of 1981 Los Angeles through the eyes of a teenager who is already intensely aware of sex, status, wealth, literature, cinema and the people around him.

 

The thriller is there, but for much of the first episode it feels as though we are being invited to live inside Bret's cultured and privileged world and experience it through his eyes, where everything seems glamorous on the surface while something darker is always lurking underneath.

Episode 2

If Episode 1 had some of the feeling of Pretty Little Liars (2010), only with a much more serious tone, Episode 2 pushes things further into horror. The beginning almost feels like Halloween (1978), with the murders, break-ins and the masked killer.

  

Episode 2 ramps things up with more murders, while introducing a cult calling themselves the Riders of the Afterlife. Teenage life and sexual frustration are still very much present, but the show is now moving further into horror territory.

 

The visual style also becomes much more elaborate. There are more striking compositions, with the direction sometimes creating almost surreal imagery. It feels like the show is becoming more visually confident as the story moves forward.

 

Robert Mallory also becomes increasingly unsettling, making his presence around Bret feel more and more significant.

I love the attitude and confusion surrounding Bret. I love the movie references and the close connection to the film industry. I love the stylistic narration and the way it constantly pulls attention toward the world Bret is experiencing.

 

There is also something I really like about the visual style. It feels like a light mode set against a dark background. There is darkness inside all the brightness, so to speak. Everything can look beautiful, stylish and almost glamorous, while something much darker is always sitting underneath it.

 

Then there is the music. The 80s music fits perfectly, and when the show brings in the retrowave sound on top of that, it becomes even better. Check the extra section at the bottom of this article for the songs used in these episodes.

After these first two episodes, I definitely want to keep watching. Whatever is really going on with Bret and the people around him, The Shards has already managed to pull me into its world.

Strong Cast

Igby Rigney plays Bret Easton Ellis with a strong presence and style. This is also not his first time appearing in a murder project. He was previously in the series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.

Kaia Gerber plays Susan Reynolds with glamour and a very natural presence. There is no mystery about where she got those looks. Together with Graham Campbell as Thom Wright, they have a great dynamic that fits the show really well. 

 

Hayes Warner plays Debbie Schaffer. This is her first acting role, coming from the music industry. You would never know it from watching her here. Her acting is flawless.

Homer Gere plays Robert Mallory in a way that makes him genuinely intimidating. But is that just Bret's perception of him that is tricking us? Maybe. Or could he be the Trawler? It would be too easy, right... right?

Episodes 1-2 Rating: 10/10
The visual style of the era, the narration and the glamour, 
all set against a murder theme, certainly got my attention.

Trailer:

IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27543562

Original Patreon Podcast (Free)
https://www.patreon.com/breteastonellispodcast/posts/shards-chapter-64952514

Behind-the-scenes podcast
https://open.spotify.com/show/033VesGBjrrYZBlxf1CbNL

If you got this far, here is a list of the songs used in these two episodes. 
Found on www.timeout.com

Episode 1
Moving in Stereo – The Cars
Vienna – Ultravox
Presentation Destination – Troye Sivan and Leland Feat. Allie X
Planet Earth – Duran Duran
This Town – The Go-Go’s
Golden Brown – The Stranglers
Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett
Bad Boys Get Spanked – The Pretenders
LA Wants Me Dead – Troye Sivan and Leland

Episode 2
Rise – Herb Alpert
Another Day Goes By – Troye Sivan and Leland
Don’t You Want Me – Human League
Deja vu – Dionne Warwick
Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles
Tusk – Fleetwood Mac
Year of the Cat – Al Stewart

Movie: He-eo-jil gyeol-sim (2022)

 (Decision to Leave)
Premiere: 2022
Country of origin: South Korea
Director: Park Chan-wook
Writer: Park Chan-wook, Chung Seo-kyung
Production Companies: CJ Entertainment,  Moho Film  
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Runtime: 2h 19min
Starring: Park Hae-il, Tang Wei

One thing I have always found fascinating about much of Asian cinema is how it often refuses to follow the same predictable structures that we are used to seeing in many mainstream films. The stories can move in unexpected directions, changing tone and emotion without feeling like they are following a strict formula. A film can be serious, funny, romantic and strange all at the same time, creating a balance that feels very human.

This is something that immediately stood out to me while watching. The film has the foundation of a detective mystery, but it is also a romance, a psychological drama and a study of obsession. It is a film where the question is not only about finding the truth, but also about understanding another person.

The story begins when a man is found dead after falling from a cliff. Detective Jang Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is assigned to investigate whether it was an accident, suicide or murder. The man's wife, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), quickly becomes the main person of interest.

Seo-rae. A woman who seems calm, distant and almost impossible to place. There is something about the way she carries herself, something hidden behind every answer and every silence, making it impossible to decide whether she is someone to fear, someone to understand or simply someone who refuses to reveal herself.

The more Jang looks at her, the more she seems to become not just a person in the investigation, but a presence that follows his thoughts even when she is no longer there. A mystery that is no longer only about what she has done, but about why he feels so drawn toward understanding her. And somewhere in that search for answers, the detective begins to forget that he was supposed to be searching for a suspect, not someone he could never stop thinking about.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Jang's obsession is how deeply he studies Seo-rae. He watches her movements, studies her habits and tries to understand every small detail about her. Eventually, his investigation becomes so personal that he almost feels present in her life even when he is not there. The film beautifully visualizes this, showing his thoughts and imagination blending with reality, making it difficult to separate what he knows from what he only believes.

(In this scene, Jang is not physically present. He is there only in his imagination.)

Why does this person remain in his mind? Why does every small detail about her feel important? Why does finding the truth about her start to feel less like a duty and more like a need? A need I have to solve?

But the film never makes the simple assumption that someone being unusual means they are guilty. Instead, it creates a fascinating mystery around who Seo-rae really is and how much we can trust our own perception of another person.

At its core, the film is a story about a murder investigation, but it quickly becomes much more interested in the people involved than simply solving the crime. Detective Jang is determined to uncover the truth behind the man's death. He is a dedicated investigator who pays attention to every small detail, but his dedication also becomes his weakness.

 

When Seo-rae becomes the focus of the investigation, Jang finds himself increasingly fascinated by her. She is mysterious, difficult to read and does not behave like someone he expects. The more he studies her, the more involved he becomes, and the line between professional investigation and personal interest starts to disappear.

One thing I especially appreciated was how naturally the film changes its tone. It begins as a detective mystery, slowly transforms into a romance, becomes a psychological drama and even finds room for small moments of comedy before returning to the mystery once again. It is a style of storytelling I have often found in Asian cinema, where genres are allowed to blend together instead of being kept separate.

I also loved the film's cinematography. The framing, camera angles and visual storytelling constantly drew me into the characters' emotions, often telling just as much through a composition or a quiet movement as through the dialogue itself. 

 

The film rewards viewers who pay attention. A phone, a foot bath, a turtle, a watch or even a simple conversation may seem insignificant at first, but almost every detail returns with a purpose later on. Nothing feels accidental.

By the end, the greatest mystery is no longer the murder itself, but the people caught inside it. 

The two lead performances deserve special mention. Tang Wei, known internationally for her acclaimed and controversial role in Lust, Caution (2007), delivers a captivating performance as Seo-rae. She portrays a strong-minded woman whose emotions are often hidden beneath the surface, making every glance and every silence feel meaningful.

Opposite her, Park Hae-il, known from Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006) and War of the Arrows (2011), gives a wonderfully restrained performance as Detective Jang Hae-jun. He convincingly portrays a man slowly being pulled into a world he is desperately trying to make sense of, where professional duty and personal emotion become impossible to separate.

Rating: 9/10
It is a film you investigate and the deeper you look, the more you realize the biggest mystery was never the murder. It was the people.

IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12477480/

Movie: Se, jie (2007)

(Lust, Caution)
Premiere: 2007
Country of origin: Taiwan, USA, Hong Kong, China
Director: Ang Lee
Writer: Eileen Chang, James Schamus, Hui-Ling Wang

Production Companies: 
Haishang Films, Focus Features, River Road Entertainment, 
Sil-Metropole Organisation, Shanghai Film Group, Shanghai Film Group Corporation

Genre: Erotic, Thriller, Drama
Runtime: 2h 37min
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei

When Lust, Caution was released, it became one of the most controversial films of the 2000s. The film gained worldwide attention because of its explicit scenes, which led to censorship and different versions being released in different countries. The controversy also caused problems for the lead actress, Tang Wei. But behind the controversy is a much more complex and tragic story.

The film is based on the novella Se, Jie (Lust, Caution) (1979) by Chinese writer Eileen Chang. While the story is fictional, it was deeply influenced by Chang's own experiences of living through the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during World War II. The uncertainty, fear and moral compromises of that time shaped the world in which the story takes place.

One version of the book from 1979

The film begins like a spy thriller, but slowly transforms into something much more personal. It becomes a story about identity, manipulation, passion and the dangerous connection between two people who are both trapped by the roles they are forced to play. 

 

Set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai during World War II, Lust, Caution follows Wang Jiazhi, a young woman who becomes part of a resistance group formed by university students with a background in theater. Their mission is to assassinate Mr. Yee, a Chinese official working with the Japanese occupation government. What begins as an act of deception becomes far more dangerous as Wang risks losing herself in the process.

 

Secrets, lies and performances become the foundation of their world.

One of the first things that stood out was the incredible recreation of the era. The clothing, the cars and the atmosphere of 1930s & 1940s Shanghai are beautifully created. The fact that they built such a large street set helps sell the feeling that we have truly entered another time period.

But underneath the spy story is a much deeper and more tragic story. It is about holding on to your beliefs and your mission, while also fighting against losing yourself. It is about passion, manipulation and the dangerous places where human emotions can take you.

The film's intimate scenes are certainly raw and intense, but they never feel like they exist only to shock the audience. They are not simply erotic moments, but an important part of the story that reveals the complicated relationship between Wang Jiazhi and Mr. Yee. There is desire, but also power, control and emotional conflict.

Tang Wei gives an incredible performance as Wang Jiazhi. Watching her character develop from a young theater student into someone carrying an impossible burden is devastating. She captures the painful transformation of a person who enters the role as part of a mission, only to become emotionally trapped inside it. The conflict between duty, identity and her own feelings is shown with incredible depth.

The role also came with a real-life cost for Tang Wei. After the film's release, she faced a ban from appearing in films in mainland China because of the controversy surrounding the movie. However, she later returned to acting and has since become one of the most respected and prominent actresses in Chinese cinema.

What makes her performance even more impressive is that Lust, Caution was one of her first major film roles. The emotional range and complexity she brings to Wang Jiazhi is remarkable, especially for such an early point in her career.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai gives Mr. Yee a commanding performance. Through his calm authority and controlled presence, he creates a character who feels powerful and intimidating, while still keeping a layer of mystery beneath the surface.

Lust, Caution is not a happy film. It is a dark story, but it is told with such realism and intensity that I found myself completely absorbed. During the most suspenseful moments, I felt transported into this world, which is something that is becoming harder to achieve with modern films.

Rating: 10/10
The combination of raw passion, darkness and psychological tension creates something unforgettable.

IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808357