Everything to Know About The Shards, Ryan Murphy’s Take on the Bret Easton Ellis Novel

Rumors about an American Psycho remake may persist, but until that classic film gets its official reboot treatment, there’s another Bret Easton Ellis project in the works. The author’s 2023 book, The Shards—his first novel in 13 years following 2010’s Imperial Bedrooms—has been adapted into an FX series by Ryan Murphy.

The highly metafictional novel, which imagines a fictionalized version of Ellis as a teenager in 1980s Los Angeles at the center of a series of disturbing murders, was originally released by Ellis as a serialized audiobook on his Patreon. Following the novel's publication, it was set to be adapted into an HBO series, with Luca Guadagnino directing (the Call Me By Your Name filmmaker is also reportedly attached to the American Psycho remake). But after Ellis had a falling out with the network over creative differences, Murphy signed on as Ellis’s new co-creator. Here’s everything we know so far:

Who is in the cast of The Shards?

The cast of the 10-episode series features some newer faces alongside recurring Ryan Murphy players. Igby Rigney will play Ellis, while Richard Gere’s son, Homer Gere—currently making his mark on another gritty teen drama with Euphoria—will play antagonist Robert. (It’s a fitting casting, given that Ellis has frequently spoken of the influence Gere’s American Gigolo character had on his work). The main cast is rounded out by Graham Campbell, Hayes Warner and Wes Bentley, with Kaia Gerber, Evan Rachel Wood, Jordan Roth, Owen Painter, and Daniel Dale in the supporting ensemble.

What will the plot of The Shards be?

Assuming the series sticks to the novel’s general structure, The Shards will tell the dark coming-of-age tale of a fictionalized, 17-year-old Ellis as he tries to determine the identity of a serial killer targeting classmates and families at his privileged prep school. The killer, known as “The Trawler,” plucks off members of Ellis’s elite inner circle one by one in increasingly disturbing ways. Set in 1981 Los Angeles among the children of Hollywood’s upper crust of directors, producers, and writers, The Shards is considered a thematic and tonal return to Ellis’s Less Than Zero and the nihilistic work that first made him a literary darling. With Murphy’s touch, the series is set up to be particularly gruesome.

How is Bret Easton Ellis involved?

Ellis is credited as a creator and writer on the series.

Is there a release date for The Shards?

The Shards wrapped production in March and is slated to premiere on FX in August 2026.