New thriller show from American Psycho writer coming to streaming very soon

The serial killer thriller series has been in the works for several years.

Coming to the streaming service in early August, the autofiction/thriller book has been brought to screen by Ellis, alongside Ryan Murphy (The Beauty, Netflix's Monster and The Watcher).

Set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the show follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.

"At its centre is Bret (Igby Rigney), an aspiring writer and keenly observant teenager whose reality begins to unravel with the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere)," the plot synopsis states.

"Transferring in just before his senior year, Robert’s appearance coincides with the growing terror of The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city."

The first image from The Shards TV show adaptation

The Disney+ plot synopsis continues: "Alongside Bret is his elite social circle, which consists of Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell), a glamorous and deeply entangled group drawn into a life of wealth, beauty, parties and excess.

"The promise of their youth is contrasted with the dark and cynical world of the adults surrounding them: Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Liz Schaffer (Evan Rachel Wood) and Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth)."

A fictionalised memoir of Ellis's final year of high school in 1981 LA, the novel version of The Shards was published in January 2023 to acclaim.

Within a few months, it was reported that a TV show adaptation of the book was in the works.

Described by Disney+ as "a fusion of the voices of two of America’s most provocative storytellers — Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis," The Shards will premiere on Thursday, 6 August, exclusively on Disney+ in Ireland and the UK.