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At Monday night’s New York premiere of FX’s upcoming horror drama The Shards, one name was on nearly everyone’s lips: Ryan Murphy. The prolific creator was quickly cited by the show’s cast, from the young actors playing the privileged teens at the center of the series to Broadway producer Jordan Roth, as being key to their desire to be part of the project.
But not far behind Murphy on the list of factors drawing actors to The Shards was the book of the same name and its author Bret Easton Ellis.
“I’m a huge Bret Easton Ellis fan and when this book came out, I read it immediately and read it over and over again,” Kaia Gerber said. “Then when I heard Ryan was doing it, I’m also the biggest fan of Ryan. He gave me my first ever job. When he told me he got the rights to it, I just got chills and teared up.”
Though Ellis’ semi-autobiographical novel, released in 2023, was key to helping the cast understand their characters, Ellis himself has been only lightly involved with the series by selling the book to Murphy and penning a draft of the first two episodes, which Murphy also worked on. The author, who also serves as an executive producer on the show, wasn’t at Monday’s premiere and hasn’t been heavily involved in promoting the show, which is set for an Aug. 5 release.
