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:
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
