The Shards Review: Ryan Murphy’s Thriller Struggles with Complexity

Ryan Murphy has long been a polarizing presence in the entertainment world. Known for creating breakout hits like “Glee,” “American Horror Story,” and “Pose,” his career is dotted with both triumphs and baffling creative decisions. A frequent critique is his tendency to derail his own shows with poor endings. Although we were not able to view the conclusion of “The Shards” before its debut, I remain cautiously skeptical about its outcome.

“The Shards,” an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 novel, began as a podcast before eventually finding its way to print. Despite mixed reviews in some circles, it maintains an impressive four-star rating on Goodreads. My perspective is drawn solely from the show itself, which delivers an extravagantly engaging narrative centered around wealthy, self-absorbed teenagers—exactly as I had anticipated.

“The Shards” takes place in 1981 Los Angeles, and focuses on a close-knit group of affluent teens who have minimal adult supervision and no shortage of drugs, sex, and parties to keep them busy. Bret Ellis (Igby Rigney) spends all of his time with his girlfriend Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and their friends Thom Wright (Graham Campbell) and Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber). But Bret has secrets: he’s in love with Susan (who is in a serious relationship with Thom), and he also hooks up with men, unbeknownst to anyone else in his life.

The four friends are set to enter their senior year of high school when we meet them, and all hell breaks loose. It’s the ’80s, and in this time of serial killer infamy, the group has their own to worry about: the Trawler. (Now, this isn’t a spoiler since it happens in the first episode, but if you’re especially sensitive to violence against animals, I’d probably skip this show.) Combined with the arrival of an alluring and mysterious new student named Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), the group has plenty to worry about aside from simply graduating. Who will the Trawler target next? Does Robert know more about the horrific murders than he lets on? And what secrets is he hiding? 

I don’t know if I’d call the show camp. Ryan Murphy’s projects have certainly earned the term in the past, and it basically feels like a trademark for him at this point. But “The Shards” seems to take itself too seriously for that label. The bigger issue is an overabundance of things happening. The source material is over 600 pages long, which becomes really obvious here when you break down all of the different plot threads weaving through the show; it’s jarring to go from the brutal, gory story of the Trawler in one moment just to be dumped into the storyline about who’ll win homecoming queen in the next. And while the individual plot points are entertaining, it doesn’t always feel like a cohesive, well-planned narrative. 

To the cast’s credit, they don’t get caught up in that mess. Igby Rigney plays a believable, pretentious teenager who’s simultaneously “smart for his age” but also appropriately naive for a high schooler. Hayes Warner also does a great job in her acting debut, as the spoiled yet always-coming-in-second Debbie, who you can’t help but root for. But my favorite of the bunch has to be Jordan Roth as Steven Reinhardt, the long-suffering assistant to Debbie’s skeezy dad Terry (Wes Bentley). Steven’s sharp wit and devilish humor are so fun to watch, and Roth absolutely nails it. And finally, I’d be remiss to leave out Evan Rachel Wood as Debbie’s mother Liz — another iconic role for an iconic actress. I also have to give credit to the soundtrack, which is killer and does a great job of capturing the early-’80s atmosphere.

At the end of the day, this is a fun show that really tries to sell you on the mystery and drama at hand. Do we need another TV series about attractive, rich, white teens who go through something terrible? Probably not. On the other hand, “The Shards” has enough suspense and a solid enough cast to keep you engaged. If you’re a fan of other recent Ryan Murphy thrillers, this will be an entertaining show to binge-watch over a weekend. But ultimately, the messy script and overloaded plot keep it from reaching the heights of his better work.

“The Shards” premieres with its first two episodes at 9 p.m. on August 5 on FX and Hulu.