'The Shards' Review: Murphy & Ellis' FX/Hulu Collab

When Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis finally joined forces, fans of both provocateurs knew the result would be anything but tame. The limited series The Shards, now streaming on Hulu under the FX banner, brings Ellis’s 2023 novel of the same name to the screen with all the glossy dread you’d expect from the guy who wrote Less Than Zero and the producer who turned American Horror Story into a cultural institution. The verdict? It’s a messy, hypnotic, and occasionally self-indulgent fusion that works far better than it has any right to.

A High-School Nightmare in 1980s LA

Set in the early 1980s, the story centers on Ellis himself - or at least a fictionalized version of him - as a wealthy, narcissistic teenager navigating the treacherous halls of an exclusive Los Angeles prep school. The plot kicks off with a serial killer dubbed “The Trawler” terrorizing the city, but that’s just the backdrop for the real horror: the brutal, backstabbing social dynamics of adolescence. Narrated by a now-adult Ellis (voice provided by an eerily detached performance), the series dives headfirst into memory, paranoia, and the blurry line between what actually happened and what the teenage mind convinced itself was true.

Murphy’s fingerprints are all over the production design - the era’s cocaine-white interiors, the designer jeans, the synth-heavy score that pulses like a heartbeat. But the show never feels like a simple nostalgia trip. Instead, it uses the decade’s aesthetic as a glossy trap, luring viewers into a world of privilege where every smile hides a knife.

A Collab Made in Hollywood Heaven or Hell?

On paper, Murphy and Ellis seem like a perfect match. Both are obsessed with beautiful, damaged people doing horrible things for attention. Ellis’s prose is clinical and detached; Murphy’s visual style is operatic and feverish. The surprise here is that the series actually balances those impulses. The script, which Ellis adapted himself, retains the book’s icy observational tone, while Murphy’s direction injects moments of genuine, stomach-churning tension. A scene involving a pool party that slowly turns sinister is pure Murphy magic - sunlight, toned bodies, and then a sudden, unbearable close-up that flips the mood in seconds.

That said, the collaboration isn’t always seamless. Some episodes drag under the weight of Ellis’s self-insert narration, which can feel more like a therapy session than a plot device. And Murphy, as he often does, throws so many red herrings and pseudo-supernatural flourishes into the middle episodes that the killer’s reveal, when it comes, feels almost secondary. But maybe that’s the point. The Shards isn’t really about who’s committing the murders; it’s about the rotting morality of the people who pretend they’re too good to notice.

The Cast Delivers the Goods

No Murphy production is complete without a breakout performance, and this one is no exception. The casting team strikes gold with its young ensemble. The actor playing the teen Ellis nails the character’s smug vulnerability, while the supporting players - especially the brooding new kid with a dangerous smile - bring a palpable menace to every scene. The adult narration, delivered with a kind of weary disgust, pulls the whole thing together, making you feel like you’re listening to a cautionary tale from a man who never actually learned his lesson.

The Reality Check for Streaming TV

There’s a strange thrill in watching a major streaming platform fund something this deliberately unpleasant. The Shards isn’t a cozy mystery or a true-crime docudrama. It’s a literary horror story about memory, status, and the lies we tell ourselves to survive high school. At times, it feels less like a TV show and more like a high-budget fever dream you can’t wake up from - which, honestly, is probably the highest compliment you can offer either of these guys.

For longtime fans of Ellis, the series stays faithful to the novel’s transgressive spirit. For Murphy devotees, it’s another slick, hyper-stylized descent into chaos. If you’re new to both, strap in. It’s a slow burn that rewards patience but won’t apologize for making you squirm.

A Final, Uncomfortable Word

Is The Shards a triumph or a mess? The answer is both, often within the same scene. It’s the kind of show that will spark heated debates among friends: some will call it a masterpiece of toxic nostalgia, others will call it an exhausting exercise in privilege. But one thing is certain - you won’t stop thinking about it long after the credits roll on the final episode. And while there’s no confirmed word on whether this will lead to more Murphy-Ellis collaborations, this first outing proves that sometimes the strangest bedfellows make the most unsettlingly compelling television.

Catch The Shards exclusively on Hulu via FX, and be prepared to shower afterward.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter