Ryan Murphy adapted Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name, published in 2023.

Breaking down the biggest changes between *The Shards *novel and Ryan Murphy’s adaptation

Ryan Murphy adapted Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name, published in 2023.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

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on September 11, 2026 2:48 p.m. ET

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Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds, Igby Rigney as Bret Easton Ellis and Hayes Warner as Debbie Schaffer on ‘The Shards’. Credit:

- Ryan Murphy adapted Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 novel *The Shards *for FX.

- The nine-episode series stars Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere, Evan Rachel Wood, and Wes Bentley, among others.

- The show has made several changes from the book.

Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 novel *The Shards *has officially gotten the Ryan Murphy treatment.

The FX series, which premiered on Aug. 5, is based on the author’s autofiction novel of the same name and loosely inspired by his experiences as a teenager in 1981. The show, just like the book, follows a 17-year-old closeted Bret (Igby Rigney) — who is grappling with his sexuality — during the fall of his senior year at Buckley Prep. The arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), raises eyebrows as a serial killer nicknamed “The Trawler” starts committing gruesome murders around town. (Kaia Gerber, Hayes Warner, Graham Campbell, Evan Rachel Wood, and Wes Bentley also star.)

Before Murphy was involved with the project, he resonated with Ellis’ story.

“I very much see the timeline of my career also in his timeline, going from sort of wunderkind to a controversial figure to an institutionalized thing, whether you like it or not,” Murphy told *Variety** *in August, before giving clarity to how much involvement Ellis had when it came to the nine-episode series.

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Murphy said it was an “interesting collaboration” because, while Ellis is credited as a cowriter on the first two episodes, the author told the writer-director to put his own touch on the story. (This is evident when it comes to the general order of events, which appeared to be switched around.)

“It ended up being a very good experience, and I hope he’s proud,” Murphy said, noting that Ellis did previously share a wish for the show to “be a three-year dramatic series” — or even longer.

Read on for the biggest changes from Ellis’ *The Shards *novel to Murphy’s adaptation.

Getting The Trawler’s point of view

Hayes Warner as Debbie Schaffer, Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds.

Ray Mickshaw/FX

While Bret narrates the book and it’s — for the most part — told through his point of view, the show offers more insight into The Trawler. The series often strays from Bret’s first-person narrative so viewers can see The Trawler hunt and kidnap the victims he was most closely related to.

The Trawler’s murders, overall, are also more in depth. Book readers know that details about what *actually *happens to the victims (i.e. cat heads sewn onto a woman’s chest) aren’t revealed until much later in the novel, but the show allows for that visual in the first two episodes.

*The Shards *does a great job of emphasizing the importance of Brett’s relationship with Matt Kellner (Owen Painter), but his disappearance and eventual murder changes quite a bit. In the book, Bret listens to the cassette tape of Matt’s torture and death after the body has been discovered. The show has Bret finding the tape in his mailbox and listening to the torture while Matt was still alive and being held captive.

Who is Rhonda?

Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds and Ivy Wolk as Rhonda on ‘The Shards’.

Chris Haston/FX

One of Bret’s classmates Rhonda, gets introduced during the show’s third episode and quickly becomes one of The Trawler’s victims. The character, played by Ivy Wolk, is never mentioned in the novel, and it appears she was created for the show.

Rhonda becomes the only one of The Trawler’s victims to be released. As a way to integrate her back into society, Susan (Gerber) decides that Rhonda should be Homecoming queen. However, when Rhonda wins the crown, she accuses Susan of being The Trawler.

The Liz Schaffer and Ryan Vaughn of it all

Wood’s character, Liz, appears briefly in the novel, but Murphy’s adaptation expands her character. A failed actress, she and Bentley’s Terry Schaffer bring their onscreen marriage issues front and center.

Things take a second twist when Bret’s classmate Ryan (Daniel Dale) is revealed to have a side hustle as an adult film actor. In an attempt to revive her career, Liz ends up nabbing an adult film gig in which Ryan becomes her scene partner. This leads to a rather uncomfortable scene in which Liz recognizes Ryan as someone who goes to school with her daughter, Debbie (Warner).

What happened at Robert’s party?

Kaia Gerber as Susan, Igby Rigney as Bret, Hayes Warner as Debbie, Homer Gere as Robert, Graham Campbell as Thom.

Not much about Robert’s storyline changes — which is probably for the best. But there are a few things that differ from the novel. Susan throws him a part in which Bret stirs the pot by confronting Robert with a chilling rumor. Some of Robert’s former classmates tell Bret that it was speculated Robert murdered his mother, but he was cleared of all wrongdoing. In the book, Robert’s aunt shares this with Bret way later in the story. (Similarly, Robert’s aunt’s second home in the show is a rental property, not a divorce asset.)

Elsewhere at the event, Debbie and Ryan sneak into a room to hook up. Debbie does not cheat on Bret in the book; rather, he’s cheating on *her *with Ryan. But that’s not even the kicker. As they’re about to have sex, an unnamed intruder with a knife enters the room. Rather than doing anything, the mysterious man stares at Debbie and Ryan. Bret and Thom (who appears to know the intruder) enter the room and make the assailant leave the party.

This moment appears to be reminiscent of a run-in that Bret has with a Riders of the Afterlife cult member at the music video party in the book, which was noticeably cut from the show.

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The Debbie and Thom switch-up

Ellis often alludes that Thom (Campbell) is unintelligent in the novel, with Bret telling readers that his best friend isn’t picking up on clues that his girlfriend, Susan, and Robert are romantically involved. This is a complete shift in the show, with Thom visibly angry about Susan and Robert’s budding relationship.

It actually appears that Debbie was dumbed down a bit for the show, focusing more on the events during their senior year — homecoming and a dance-off — than anything else.

Some more minor differences

Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds in ‘The Shards’.

Ray Mickshaw/FX

In some circumstances, the general order of events has been switched around.

The premiere episode, for example, has Bret seeing Robert at the movie theater way earlier than the events of the book. The infamous beige van also gets introduced way earlier — but raises just as many questions. Bret inadvertently crossing paths with The Trawler on the Buckley campus after hours gets cut from the show, with him discovering the defiled mascot statue during the first day of school.

Bret and Debbie’s romance becomes hot and heavy way earlier, as well. The book has the teens making out the first night things went from friends to something more, but the show took it to another level with Bret and Debbie having sex on a lounge chair at a party.

Hayes Warner as Debbie Schaffer, Anthony Ramos as Tony Cru and Kaia Gerber as Susan Reynolds on ‘The Shards’.

There was no mention of a dance-off in Ellis’ novel, but the show had a musical episode. No one sang, but there was a whole lot of dancing — to some pretty iconic songs from the 1980s. All of episode 5 was created by Murphy, but the inclusion of Anthony Ramos as a character named Tony Cruz was a fun bonus to the chaos.

Unmasking The Trawler

Igby Rigney as Bret and Homer Gere as Robert Mallory on ‘The Shards’.

The season finale both does and does not stray from the book. Both Terry’s fall and the attack on Susan and Thom are all straight from the novel. As is the identity of The Trawler. Yes, in both iterations, The Trawler is never unmasked.

However, the show’s final scene is where things differ. Bret and Robert both end up at the police station ready to accuse each other of being The Trawler. When detectives lead them into an interrogation room, nearly every character is present. Authorities reveal that one person in the room is definitely The Trawler, they just don’t know who. The season is left on a major cliffhanger.

All episodes of *The Shards *are streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

- Book Adaptations

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Book”