The new drama series The Shards is now streaming on Disney+, with the first two episodes currently available. The show, created by prolific writer and producer Ryan Murphy, is actually based on a book by acclaimed author Bret Easton Ellis, known for American Psycho.
What is The Shards about?
The series is set in 1981 and follows 17-year-old Ellis during his final year at the elite Buckley prep school in Los Angeles. His world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler. The premise describes "privilege, obsession and terror collide at an elite L.A. prep school."
Is The Shards based on a book?
Yes, The Shards is an adaptation of Ellis's novel of the same name, which is considered a piece of autofiction, blending autobiography and fiction. The book was initially serialised as an audiobook on Ellis's Patreon page in 27 instalments between 2020 and 2021, before being published as a book in 2023.
Ellis has been closely involved in the adaptation, writing some episodes alongside Ryan Murphy. In the story, the character 'Bret' is the narrator and central figure, mirroring the author's own high school experiences. Ellis changed the names of his real-life classmates and removed his sisters from the story, making his on-screen counterpart an only child. The serial killer plotline is fictional.
Critical reception of the book was mixed, with one review calling it the author's "weirdest, most interesting work in years" while another said it "feels like two disparate novels—an overly detailed, fictionalised memoir and a high gothic serial killer thriller—that never come together meaningfully or believably." The series is expected to have nine episodes overall, released weekly on Disney+.
