Disney+ has confirmed that FX’s highly anticipated drama series The Shards will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK on Thursday, 6 August. Based on Bret Easton Ellis’s bestselling novel and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, the series is set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles. It follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.
At its centre is Bret (Igby Rigney), an aspiring writer and keenly observant teenager whose reality begins to unravel with the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere). Transferring in just before his senior year, Robert’s appearance coincides with the growing terror of The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city. So, not exactly a quiet final year.
Alongside Bret is his elite social circle, which consists of Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell), a glamorous and deeply entangled group drawn into a life of wealth, beauty, parties and excess. The promise of their youth is contrasted with the dark and cynical world of the adults surrounding them: Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Liz Schaffer (Evan Rachel Wood) and Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth). A pretty stacked cast, then.
Ryan Murphy serves as executive producer alongside Ellis, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and a wider creative team. The series is produced by 20th Television. Ellis is best known for novels including American Psycho, Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction, works that often explore wealth, privilege, excess and the darker realities hidden beneath polished surfaces. Murphy, meanwhile, has built a career creating some of television’s biggest conversation starters, including Glee, American Horror Story, Pose and Monster.
For CultureCues, this is already shaping up to be one of the more interesting new dramas arriving this summer. The mystery at its centre sounds compelling, and the combination of Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis suggests there will be plenty of twists, secrets and uncomfortable truths waiting to be uncovered. Consider us very curious to see what is hiding beneath the surface when The Shards arrives on Disney+ this August.
The Shards premieres exclusively on Disney+ in the UK on 6 August.
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.