Looking for your next summer obsession? Something with a little more shadow than sunshine? From executive producer, Ryan Murphy, the one who brought “The Beauty” and “Love Story,” comes his next TV show, “The Shards,” based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, a teen-horror thriller following a group of high school seniors. Ellis will also serve as executive producer and co-creator alongside Murphy.
The show went into early development in 2023 when it was originally set to be an HBO TV series. But after many creative changes and differences, the show was no longer being developed at HBO. But in 2025, Ellis shared he and Murphy were talking about reviving the project but on a different network. Soon after, FX picked up the project.
There’s been much anticipation leading up to this show, teased through the music in its soundtrack, the show’s poster release and who’s been cast. Stars include:
. Igby Rigney (“The Fall of the House of Usher”) as Bret Easton Ellis
. Kaia Gerber (“Shell”) as Susan Reynolds
. Homer Gere (“Euphoria”) as Robery Mallory
. Graham Campbell (“Late Fame”) as Thom Wright
. Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”) as Liz Schaffer
Gere, who is the eldest son of actor Richard Gere and actress Carey Lowell, will be making his second acting debut since his breakout role in the third season of the HBO hit drama TV series “Euphoria.”
On Tuesday, July 14, the official trailer for the show dropped. It opens with a vintage cinematic montage of Rigney’s character, 17-year-old Bret Easton Ellis, and his friends together dressed in their prep uniform walking toward the camera. The red captions underneath it say “Los Angeles 1981.” With a voiceover narration saying, “Being a teenager in 1981 was perhaps the last moment of our youth.”
A beat from a dark cinematic remix of “Let’s Go All The Way” by Sly Fox drops as the sequence of the trailer proceeds. Voiceovers indicate Bret and his friends are looking forward to making their senior year memorable. Just then Gere’s character, Robert Mallory, a new student, introduces and integrates himself into the group. But Bret is the only one who doesn’t trust him, as shown throughout scenes of Bret stalking Robert and discussing his suspicions with people. Building up to the point where Robert tells Bret he should “actually make a little bit of an effort to become my friend.” Before Bret challenges, “Or else what, Robert?”
And just like that, the first victim is taken. Throughout the trailer, the early 1980s aesthetics not only captures the nostalgic feeling of the time but amplifies the intense darkness to the looming danger these teenagers face. Teasing a race against time as Bret tries to solve the mystery before another victim is taken. Ending the trailer with a chilling line delivered by one of the characters, commenting, “I know we’re best friends, but sometimes I really could just murder you.”
Catch the two-episode series premiere of “The Shards” Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 9 p.m. EDT on FX and on Hulu. It will also be available to stream the next day on Disney+.
Featured image: Photo by “Yesterdays-Paper“/DeviantArt
Edited by: Kester Kafeero & James Sutton
