Season 1 – The Shards

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54%

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52 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

FX's "The Shards" is a seductive drama series based on the acclaimed bestselling novel of the same name. Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows Bret, an aspiring writer and observant teenager at an elite prep school, and his glamorous social circle as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers beneath American adolescence. Their privileged world of wealth, beauty, parties and excess begins to unravel with the arrival of Robert Mallory, a mysterious and magnetic new student whose appearance coincides with the terror of The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city.

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Critics Consensus

The combination of Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis should elicit magnanimously pulpy TV, but instead The Shards relegates itself to obtuse style with mildly entertaining substance.

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Leo Lasdun

The New Yorker

19h

Murphy obviously wasn’t interested in making a direct adaptation of Ellis’s novel, and most of the time it’s unclear what, exactly, he did want to do with the material.

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Melanie McFarland

Salon.com

Realism is not the point. Instead, think of “The Shards” as a View-Master reel designed to give Gen Z a glimpse at the lost age of excess they’re pining for.

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Jen Chaney

TV Guide

6.0/10

When it leans more toward wink-wink comedy that acknowledges the characters' narcissism, it's kinda fun. But the more it asks us to genuinely empathize with these impossibly privileged nepo babies, the more the series feels like a social experiment.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

3/5

...Bret Easton Ellis’ early novels felt like urgent dispatches from the front line of teenage nihilism; nostalgia isn’t a good look for him. The glamorous, glossy look of this swish production doesn’t create the alienating feel of Ellis’s prose…

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Rachel Ho

Exclaim!

16h

"The Shards" delivers an aggressively boring and superficial series, even by Murphy's standards.

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James Delingpole

The Spectator

17h

Great decades are only really worth living through second time round through a haze of nostalgia and with a much more carefully curated soundtrack. That’s one reason I can so heartily recommend The Shards.

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S P

@watchingthingswithspd 16h

It’s Ryan Murphy what else do we expect. I was looking forward to this show but so far it just feels like a vapid mess. I love the outfits, however, but it definitely lacks more interesting things.

Janie C

@JanesKC 23h

It’s a very very stylish satirical slasher series filmed in a way that makes LA feel so glamorous and brings back the 80s with its awesome music, fabulous fashion and anticipated excitement. And if that doesn’t get you, how can you not be mesmerized by these fun interesting characters & the actors who play them. Can’t wait for each next episode to drop. 👏🏼⭐️🤘🤘

Marc Z

@TKDLife 1d

Ryan Murphy always is interesting to watch and this ideation of his is no exception. A story about a group of upscale 80's private high school friends is very nostalgic and interesting. In typical Murphy fashion it has violence, perversity, and very iconic looks at key elements of the decade. The cast is great. Young, talented, sexy, and fun to watch. My biggest issues are that it is too long in spots and the dialogue is unnecessarily melodramatic in spots. Visually good. Music perfect.

B Y

@Caspero4444 1d

Steohen King nailed the formula for teenage detectives in "It". A scary nemesis side by side with precarious adolesence and adults as a mixed bag of unreliable, indifferent, well meaning. This show has monotone high school teens, no adults on screen, a villain who seems like any other rich so cal kid. I never watched Bling Ring a movie about the rich stealing from the more rich, but seems like it could be the same kind of vibe.

Harbour H

@RT88722576 2d

1981 period piece? Oh hell ya Bret Easton Ellis? Oh hell yea! Cliche tropes about a bunch nepo entitled dipshits with no character? Oh HELL NAH Wanted to love this and the show does look great with good production design and those blackwing7’s but man the characters are just insufferable. Hard to sit through

Young S

@YoungStevie 3d

As a huge fan of the book “less than zero “it pains me to say that this is just awful. Unwatchable do not waste your time.

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Kaia Gerber

Actor

Wes Bentley

Actor

Evan Rachel Wood

Actor

Homer Gere

Actor

Graham Campbell

Thom Wright

Igby Rigney

Actor

Episode 1

Aired Aug 5, 2026

Pilot

It's the summer of 1981 in Los Angeles; a series of crimes coincides with the arrival of a new student in Bret's orbit.

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Episode 2

Aired Aug 5, 2026

Don't You Want Me

Bret digs deeper into Robert's murky past and uncovers some evidence.

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Episode 3

Aired Aug 12, 2026

Help Me! Rhonda

A beloved student's sudden disappearance causes chaos for the senior class.

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Episode 4

Aired Aug 12, 2026

Robert's Party

Susan's welcome party for Robert is overshadowed by a violent incident.

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Episode 5

Airs Aug 19

Murder on the Dance Floor

A televised dance competition culminates with a horrifying showstopper; written for television by Ryan Murphy and Charles Rogers; directed by Ryan Murphy.

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Episode 6

Airs Aug 26

Homecoming Part One

"Troubled" Debbie is galvanized by a new extracurricular.

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Episode 7

Airs Aug 26

Homecoming Part Two

A surprising Homecoming King and Queen are crowned as the Trawler's killing spree continues.

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Episode 8

Airs Sep 2

Hamlet

Something turns rotten in the state of California, as two blackmail plots reveal two devastating secrets. Written for Television by Lenore Zion & Charles Rogers & Juli Weiner. Directed by Max Minghella.

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Episode 9

Airs Sep 9

Stairway to Heaven

With the city on lockdown, Debbie hosts a Halloween party that will change everything. Written for Television by Juli Weiner & Charles Rogers. Directed by Michael Uppendahl.

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Episode 10

Airs Sep 2

Episode 110

In the 1980s Los Angeles, aspiring writer Bret and his elite prep school circle navigate identity, desire and obsession as a magnetic new student arrives amid a serial killer's reign of terror.

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The Shards: Season 1 Trailer - This Season On