Ryan Murphy's FX adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel The Shards brings the author's autobiographical 1981 Los Angeles prep-school world to television, blending teenage hedonism with a serial-killer thriller. The series, which unites Murphy's flamboyant style with Ellis's obsession with hidden identities and lost youth, is notable for pairing an Aids-era metaphor with a cast largely drawn from young, previously unknown actors.

The show follows a character named Bret Ellis, a fictionalised version of the author, as his controlled prep-school world is disrupted by mysterious transfer student Robert Mallory while a serial killer known as The Trawler stalks his social circle. Originally intended for director Luca Guadagnino, the project passed to Murphy in February 2025; the cast includes Kaia Gerber, Igby Rigney as Ellis, Tony winner Jordan Roth, and Homer Gere, son of Richard Gere, in a role tipped to be his breakout.