FX and Hulu launch Shards adaptation of Easton Ellis

A new television series blending coming-of-age drama with serial killer horror premiered on August 5, 2026, on FX and Hulu. "The Shards," adapted by Ryan Murphy from Bret Easton Ellis's 2023 autofictional novel, follows a group of wealthy Los Angeles teenagers in 1981 whose final year of high school is disrupted by a mysterious murderer.

The nine-episode series centers on a fictionalized version of a young Bret Easton Ellis, played by Igby Rigney. As a closeted aspiring writer, Bret navigates a world of privilege, drugs, and complex relationships within his tight-knit friend group. This includes class president Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), her jock boyfriend Thom Wright (Graham Campbell), and Bret's girlfriend, Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner). Their seemingly insulated existence is shattered by the arrival of a enigmatic transfer student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), and a simultaneous wave of gruesome killings attributed to a figure known as "The Trawler."

Bret becomes convinced that Robert is the killer, a suspicion that fuels the series' central mystery. The narrative intertwines Bret's personal struggles with his sexuality and social ambitions with the escalating terror in...