FX’s upcoming drama series The Shards will feature original music by Troye Sivan, Leland and Hayes Warner. The series premieres on Thursday 6 August exclusively on Disney+ in the UK, with new key art also released today. Grammy-nominated pop artist Sivan and longtime collaborator Leland revealed on Instagram that they are contributing original music to the series, which comes from executive producer Ryan Murphy and is based on the bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis.
Original music will also come from rising pop artist Hayes Warner, who stars in The Shards as Debbie Schaffer. Warner was previously named one of People Magazine’s Artists to Watch and has built a growing pop profile with releases including “Predator” and “Breadcrumbs.”
Inspired by the show’s 1980s setting, the songs will help shape the suspense and obsession running through the series. With Troye and Leland’s track record together, this is a big pop crossover moment for the show, and we are very much looking forward to hearing what they bring to it.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, The Shards follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as their lives begin to unravel. The story follows Bret (Igby Rigney), an aspiring writer whose world is thrown off course by the arrival of mysterious new student Robert Mallory (Homer Gere).
Robert arrives as terror grows across the city, with a serial killer known as The Trawler targeting teenagers. Bret’s social circle includes Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell), with Wes Bentley, Evan Rachel Wood and Jordan Roth also starring.
The Shards is created by Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis, who also executive produce alongside Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich, Tanase Popa, Nick Hall, Michael Uppendahl, Max Winkler, Kathleen McCaffrey and Brian Young. The series is produced by 20th Television.
For CultureCues, Troye Sivan and Leland contributing original music gives us another reason to tune in. We were already intrigued by The Shards, and this news has pushed it even further up the watchlist.
The Shards premieres Thursday 6 August on Disney+ in the UK.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.