{
  "id": 201138,
  "title": "Ryan Murphy’s new thriller The Shards takes place in 1981 – but it’s about the present",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/ryan-murphys-new-thriller-the-shards-takes-place-in-1981-but-its",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-06T01:14:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/ryan-murphys-new-thriller-the-shards-takes-place-in-1981-but-its-about-the-present-287958"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ryan Murphy's new thriller The Shards is set in 1981, but it is about the present. Based on Bret Easton Ellis' 2023 book, the series follows a fictionalised version of the novelist during his final year of high school in Los Angeles. The story unfolds as a serial killer known as \"the Trawler\" begins targeting students at the elite prep school where Bret (Igby Rigney) and his friends reside. The show is directed by Ryan Murphy, known for American Horror Story, and Ellis, best known for American Psycho. Rather than being a gory slasher, The Shards focuses on Bret's psychological angst and fragmented coming-of-age narrative. The series presents contrasting perspectives on the 1980s, with the characters embodying both the allure and excess of the era and its inherent dangers. As nostalgia for the past continues to grow, The Shards highlights the limitations and exclusionary nature of Bret's high-status world, reflecting contemporary anxieties through the lens of the \"outsider.\"",
  "summary": "Based on Ellis’ 2023 book of the same name, new TV series The Shards follows elite Los Angeles teenagers as their world falls apart.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}