American Psycho author's '80s-set horror novel The Shards is getting a TV adaptation from Ryan Murphy

Just days after the first look at his upcoming legal drama All's Fair was unveiled, Ryan Murphy has announced his next project: a TV adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's '80s-set horror novel The Shards.

According to Deadline, Kaia Gerber, who previously collaborated with Murphy on American Horror Story and its spin-off American Horror Stories, is set to star, while Max Winkler will direct, having already worked with Murphy on The Watcher, Grotesquerie, and Netflix's Monster.

Having debuted as a serialized audiobook before being published in written form in 2023, The Shards is a fictionalized memoir of Ellis's final year at Buckley, an elite prep school in the Hollywood Hills. Narrated by Ellis, it details how he and his friends – all children of affluent film directors, producers, and more – indulged in fancy cars, drugs and luxury parties. 

One day, he meets Robert Mallory, who claims he's just been discharged from a psychiatric facility. As Ellis gets to know Robert, he becomes convinced he's the Trawler, a serial killer with Satanic leanings who's been offing young women across Los Angeles.

Prior to FX and Murphy snapping up the rights, Ellis was reportedly trying to develop a small-screen take on the material at HBO, with Challengers' Luca Guadagnino and Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) both linked to direct. Instead, the former has signed up to helm a new take on Ellis's best known novel American Psycho for Lionsgate, rebooting the Christian Bale-led movie from 2000.

While we wait for more news on The Shards, check out our picks of the most exciting new TV shows heading our way.