Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Ryan Murphy’s status as one of Hollywood’s most influential triple threats. The director, writer, and producer has gifted audiences medical dramas like “Nip/Tuck,” horror series like “American Horror Story,” and now delivers his best work in over a decade with his knock-out new series, “The Shards.” Based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name, the series takes place in 1981 Los Angeles, when an era of hallucinogens and disco is quickly coming to an end. As the decade turns, the lives of four privileged high school seniors do as well, as they navigate sex, jealousy, and obsession in their final year on the cusp of adulthood.
Yet for Bret (Igby Rigney), Debbie (Hayes Warner), Susan (Kaia Gerber), and Thom (Graham Campbell), competing for homecoming king and queen becomes the least of their worries, as their world is plunged into chaos when a serial killer begins stalking and killing their classmates. When new student Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) comes to town, Bret begins to suspect his new friend may know more about these killings than he says.
A year prior, Bret locked eyes with Robert in a dark cinema as “The Shining” played, and, drawn to his mystifying aura, attempted to track him down when Robert left the theater early. But when Bret recounts their meeting, Robert says he was neither at the theater that day nor has he ever seen the film. This lie sparks a rivalry between the two young men, who are drawn to each other’s secrets like a candle to a flame. As the tension between them simmers, so do the bonds they have with their classmates, which after this final year may never be the same again.
While Luca Guadagnino was once positioned to helm the series, there is no better match for Ellis’ brash writing style than Murphy’s cinematic vision. The two are a match made in heaven (or hell for some), with the hedonism that oozes off of the original pages of the novel perfectly imbued onto the screen.
Unlike most modern adaptations, “The Shards” revels in each monotonous detail found in these characters’ lives, for better and at times for worse. Whether it be Debbie’s desperation to dance her way to stardom on a “Soul Train”-esque video show, or classmate Ryan’s (Daniel Dale) double life as a porn actor being exposed, the series allows its sprawling cast to each grab some emblem of the spotlight. At times, these ever-expanding plot lines feel like they’re strapped to a runaway train, but as the series chugs along, its lunacy becomes impossible to take your eyes off of.
Each episode is backed by Bret’s insipid narration, each move he makes within the series feeling meticulous and restrained. As he lies to his friends, it feels like he’s putting on a show, not only for them but for the series’ audience as well. As Ellis’ fictional stand-in, Rigney positions his character at arm’s length from the audience, yet the show’s protagonist remains captivating in his stillness. His performance is one that the series’ most vulnerable moments hinge on, and the newcomer commands the screen with ease. As Bret’s carefully curated persona begins to falter under the weight of the murders, his ambitions to become a writer, and his growing obsession with Robert, Rigney’s performance becomes a dual act; one that showcases the heterosexual, worldly young man Bret desperately wants to be, and the selfish and mean-spirited boy he actually is. While Robert’s appearance seems to amplify the darkness within the town, it also ignites a spark within Bret and his friends, whose masks are slowly peeled back to reveal flawed husks desperately grasping onto their youth.
The series is as magnetic as it is trite, and somehow, despite certain narrative setbacks and flaws in particular performances, the show shakes out to be one of the most entertaining shows of the summer. This is a series that knows exactly what it is, and what audience it was made for, and while some swings feel like they were created with the purpose of alienating the audience, they’re also so bold that you can’t help but admire their audacity. If you’re looking to this new series to quench your thirst for some serious prestige television, you’re sorely mistaken. This doesn’t mean the show is without seriousness, and the series often bridges the lives of its too-perfect characters with those of today’s youth, poking fun at them while simultaneously pleading with them to unfurl from the clutches of performativity and selfishness.
“The Shards” is a show about wealthy young people who have created versions of themselves that are neither authentic to themselves nor the world around them. They are afraid of their own desires and flaws just as much as they are afraid of the thought of an outsider lopping the heads of their community members off, and the series quickly becomes a snapshot of an American community allowing their anxieties to fester until they spread out of control. With this audacious series, Ellis and Murphy have crafted one of the best adaptations of the year, which will surely entrap viewers within its grasp, even if they initially attempt to rid themselves of its sleek and seductive shackles.
All episodes were screened for review. Series premieres August 5th on FX and Hulu.
