Ryan Murphy series The Shards gets greenlight from FX, casts three leads

FX has officially greenlit a new drama series based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel The Shards. The series is being developed by Ryan Murphy Television, which is part of 20th Television, and is the result of a partnership between Murphy and Ellis announced in February of this year. The cast is led by Kaia Gerber, who has been involved with the project since its development.



Gerber is joined by Igby Rigney (pictured, Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue), Homer Gere, and Graham Campbell. Rigney plays young Bret, a student at an elite Los Angeles boarding school in the early 1980s. His life is disrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Robert Mallory (played by Gere), whose appearance coincides with a series of murders committed by a serial killer. Campbell plays Thom Wright, a close friend of Bret.

The Shards features semi-autobiographical elements from the life of Bret Easton Ellis and was originally released as a serialized listening experience on Ellis's podcast in 2020-2021, followed by a book publication in 2023. An earlier attempt to develop the story as a series at HBO stalled in development.

Although FX has officially ordered the series, no screenwriter has yet been attached. The executive producers are Ryan Murphy, Bret Easton Ellis, Max Winkler (who will also direct), Nick Hall, Kathleen McCaffrey and Brian Young.