The Shards premieres on FX and Hulu on August 5, 2026

A new television series from prolific producer Ryan Murphy and author Bret Easton Ellis premiered on August 5, 2026. "The Shards," a limited series based on Ellis's 2023 semi-autobiographical novel, debuted on the FX network and the streaming service Hulu with a two-episode premiere.

Set in Los Angeles in the summer of 1981, the series follows a fictionalized version of a teenage Bret Easton Ellis, played by Igby Rigney. Bret is an aspiring writer and keenly observant senior at the elite Buckley prep school, navigating a world of wealth, parties, and complex social dynamics with his close-knit group of friends. This circle includes Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner), and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell).

Their privileged adolescence is disrupted by two converging events: the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), and the growing terror of a serial killer known as "The Trawler," who is targeting teenagers across the city. The premiere episodes establish Bret's immediate fascination with Robert, which quickly curdles into suspicion and paranoia as he begins to believe the new student may be the killer.