The Shards Star Unpacks the ‘Bowie Energy’ and Other ’80s References in Ryan Murphy’s Series

Ryan Murphy’s latest show, The Shards, adapts the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name and blends elements of Ellis’ life as a teenager growing up in Los Angeles with a fictional story about a serial killer. The FX series also brings stars like Jordan Roth into Ellis’ world.

In the series, the fictionalized Bret Easton Ellis (Igby Rigney) has a tight group of friends. His girlfriend, Debbie (Hayes Warner), doesn’t know he’s still in the closet and constantly questions his attraction to her. Susan (Kaia Gerber) and her boyfriend, Thom (Graham Campbell), have their own issues, especially after Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) arrives in town. All of it is made much worse by the Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across Los Angeles. Not to mention a cult leader trying to bring the high schoolers into his family.

Rigney delivers a near-perfect American Psycho-esque voice-over, and with references to Ellis’ novel Less Than Zero, there is a lot about The Shards that really works. But Ellis’ own work isn’t the only thing to unpack in the series. There are plenty of references to the ’80s, too.

Part of that boils down to the inspiration behind Roth’s character, Steven Reinhardt. Steven is an assistant to Wes Bentley’s Terry Schaffer, a closeted Hollywood producer who uses his connections to get his way, much to the dismay of his wife, Liz (Evan Rachel Wood), all while keeping his daughter, Debbie, in the dark.

CBR’s Rachel Leishman spoke with Roth about his character, whose bleached-blond hair evokes tge famed artist Andy Warhol, and learned which influences Murphy and the creative team used to bring Steven to life.

“I think people are getting lots of different references from Steven’s aesthetic. His hair is actually based on David Sylvian, who was the lead singer of the band Japan in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I get great joy on my Instagram when people recognize David Sylvian. I’m like, ‘Yeah, you got it.’ But people are also, I think, getting some Warhol energy from the hair, as well as a bit of Bowie energy.

“I think all of those references are right-headed because Ryan’s impulse when he called me to do this part — the first thing he said — was that he imagined Steven looking to the runways of Paris, the music scene in London and all of these kinds of cultural references for his aesthetic.

“And so it feels right that people are seeing there all these shards, pardon the pun, of cultural references in his presentation. If you’re picking up a Warhol reference or another reference — even if it wasn’t intended on our end — your reading that into him is, I think, an aesthetic success.”

Ryan Murphy Brings Bret Easton Ellis to Life

Roth’s foray into the work of Ellis comes a decade after another of the author’s best-known stories made its way to Broadway. In 2016, American Psycho was adapted into a musical at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, bringing Ellis’ Patrick Bateman to the stage. As a longtime Broadway producer and theater owner, Roth knows firsthand how provocative material can push an audience’s buttons.

That makes it fitting to see him step into another Ellis story with Murphy tackling the adaptation and Ellis serving as an executive producer.

Murphy, who first broke through with shows like FX’s Nip/Tuck before Glee and has since worked on anthology series like Monsters and American Horror Story, is a creative whose sensibilities seem well-matched with Ellis’. The more outrageous aspects of Ellis’ work often make for the best adaptations, and Murphy understands that, which is why a character like Roth’s Steven is so fun.

When asked why audiences continue returning to Ellis’ work through adaptations like American Psycho and The Shards, Roth explained what makes those stories so fascinating to revisit.

“I think that’s such an interesting question. Bret Easton Ellis’ novels are such magnificent pieces of writing, and the characters that he offers us are so fascinating and compelling with so many layers that can continue to be peeled back, unfolded and unpacked.

“I think that’s part of why you can do it in a movie, then in a musical and then see a television series. There are lots of different ways to unpack this world.

“You talked about the voice-over, and certainly Bret’s voice in the book of The Shards is very much Bret’s voice in the voice-over of the series. There are many things in the show that aren’t in the book, but everything that’s been added is very much in the voice and spirit of this extraordinary novel.”

The Shards airs Wednesdays on FX and streams on Hulu.