FX unveiled the first trailer for its highly anticipated Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Shards this morning, and let’s just say, summer just got a whole lot sexier — and a lot more scary.
The Shards is based on Bret Easton Ellis’s best-selling metafictional “memoir” that imagines the author coming of age in tandem with a serial killer stalking teenagers in 1981 Los Angeles. Young Bret (Igby Rigney) is an aspiring writer who is living the high life attending a ritzy prep school until a charming and mysterious new student arrives. Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) immediately slides into the school’s social scene, but Bret is convinced something is off about him. Specifically, Bret believes that Robert is secretly the Trawler, the murderer attacking girls in the city.
Kaia Gerber, Hayes Warner, and Graham Campbell co-star as Bret’s core group of friends: Susan Reynolds, Debbie Schaffer, and Thom Wright. Wes Bentley and Evan Rachel Wood appear as Debbie’s parents, Terry and Liz Schaffer.
The Shards is poised to be FX’s next big Ryan Murphy hit, but what exactly is The Shards about? Is the new show based on a true story? When does The Shards come out?
Here’s everything you need to know about FX’s The Shards...
Where Can I Watch The Shards Trailer?
Right here, right now! You can scroll to the top of this page to watch the trailer for FX’s The Shards.
The Shards Release Date: When Does The Shards Come Out on FX and Hulu?
The Shards premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, August 5 at 9 p.m. ET on Hulu and FX.
New episodes come out on Wednesdays weekly after that.
What Is The Shards About?
The Shards is about a group of close-knit teenage friends enjoying sex, drugs, and early New Wave music in 1981 Los Angeles. Their friend group changes forever when a magnetic new student, Robert, arrives at school, and immediately infiltrates the clique. The show’s narrator/protagonist Bret doesn’t trust this new kid, going so far as to develop a theory that Robert is secretly a serial killer called the Trawler.
Is The Shards Based on a Book?
Yes, The Shards is based on the book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis.
Is Bret Easton Ellis’s The Shards Based on a True Story?
That’s honestly a good question! Bret Easton Ellis is theoretically writing a memoir about his senior year of high school, complete with all the bed-hopping, partying, and teen drama he actually experienced. However, The Shards is a fictional memoir. Meaning that the intense storyline surrounding the Trawler is pure fiction. (We think.) (No, it is.)
The Shards is a winking piece of metafiction that has fun spinning a story that feels in line with Bret Easton Ellis’s worldview.
The Shards Cast: Who are Igny Rigby, Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere and More Playing in the Ryan Murphy Show?
The Shards features actors you might recognize from The Midnight Club, Euphoria, Palm Royale, and Yellowstone. Here’s your guide to who’s playing whom in FX’s The Shards:
- Igby Rigney as Bret Easton Ellis
- Homer Gere as Robert Mallory
- Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds
- Hayes Warner as Debbie Schaffer
- Graham Campbell as Thom Wright
- Wes Bentley as Terry Schaffer
- Evan Rachel Wood as Liz Schaffer
- Jordan Roth as Steven Reinhardt
Where Can I Watch The Shards?
The Shards is an FX show, which means you can watch it on the cable channel FX or stream it on Hulu. Don’t have Hulu?
If you’re new to Hulu, the basic (with ads) price is $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.
