Ryan Murphy Sets ‘The Shards’ Series Adaptation At FX With Kaia Gerber Starring, Max Winkler Directing
EXCLUSIVE: Top TV producer Ryan Muprhy has lined up his next high-profile series project. FX is in early development on The Shards, based on Bret Easton Ellis‘ prep school thriller novel, with Kaia Gerber set to star and Max Winkler attached to direct, sources tell Deadline.
Both are previous Murphy collaborators: Gerber had recurring roles on both American Horror Story and spin-off American Horror Stories, while Winkler has emerged as a go-to director for Murphy. He recently worked on the third season of Netflix’s Monster and is set to helm the pilot episode of the upcoming FX series American Love Story.
The Shards will be produced by 20th Television in association with studio-based Ryan Murphy Television. Murphy, Ellis and Winkler executive produce alongside Nick Hall, Kathleen McCaffrey and Brian Young. No word yet on who’s writing.
Reps for FX and studio 20th Television declined comment.
The sale comes months after Murphy teamed with Ellis to adapt his novel for TV earlier this year. Previously, Ellis tried to get a different incarnation of The Shards off the ground at HBO since 2023. He was attached as a writer to that version, which he was to executive produce alongside Hall, Young, and McCaffrey. Prestige filmmakers Luca Guadagnino (Challengers) and Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) both flirted with directing the project for a time. Ultimately, it didn’t go forward.
First unveiled as a serialized audiobook before hitting bookstands in 2023, The Shards is a dark coming-of-age tale with semi-autobiographical facets for Ellis. Set in Los Angeles in 1981, the story follows a 17-year-old version of Ellis during his final year at the elite Buckley prep school. Upending the character’s world is the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler.
Rising to fame in the 1980s as one of the defining voices of Generation X, with his debut novel Less Than Zero, published when he was just 21 years old, Ellis remains best known for American Psycho, which Guadagnino has been set to direct for Lionsgate, in a reimagining of the 2000 classic starring Christian Bale.
Gerber recently appeared on Max’s hit comedy Hacks and can also currently be seen in Benito Skinner’s comedy series Overcompensating at Amazon. Other recent and upcoming projects include Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, Jonah Hill’s dark comedy Outcome for Apple, and the Apple series Palm Royale, which is heading into its second season. She is repped by CAA, Entertainment360, DNA Model Management, and Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Murphy is coming off of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second season of his popular Monster anthology series for Netflix. A third season of the show, starring Charlie Hunnam as murderer turned Psycho inspiration Ed Gein, is expected to premiere next year.
Under his 20th TV overall deal, Murphy has a number of new series coming up, including 9-1-1: Nashville on ABC, the Hulu legal drama All’s Fair starring Kim Kardashian, and both American Love Story and The Beauty at FX. He is repped by CAA and Paul Hastings for legal.
Nellie Andreeva contributed to this report.
