How ‘The Shards’ Rethinks the TV Serial Killer

The latest FX series, “The Shards,” is not your typical teen thriller. Based on Bret Easton Ellis’s 2023 novel, it reimagines the familiar trope of the serial killer as a complex, metaphorical force driving the story forward. By eschewing explicit references to real-life crimes and focusing instead on the dark underbelly of ’80s Los Angeles, the show’s creators – Ryan Murphy and Monster co-founder Brad Simpson – have crafted something refreshingly original.

The parallels between Ellis’s fictionalized account of a serial killer stalking his high school classmates and the “West Side Rapist” who terrorized L.A. during the author’s youth are undeniable. This shared experience creates a psychogenic connection to the events portrayed, allowing Ellis (and Murphy) to sidestep sensationalism in favor of something more thought-provoking. By leaving the killer unnamed and unconnected to real-life atrocities, “The Shards” subverts our expectations and challenges us to confront the uneasy question of why we’re drawn to these stories.

This intentionality sets “The Shards” apart from other shows that rely on gratuitous violence or explicit gore to shock their audiences. The series instead explores repressed sexuality, the dark side of ’80s L.A., and the inherent excesses of a bygone era – all through the eyes of its protagonist, Bret Easton Ellis. The show’s vision is one of nostalgia-tinged unease, as if we’re watching the same events unfold in our own rearview mirror.

The creators are aware of the risks involved in using real-life crimes as a backdrop for their story. Brad Simpson acknowledges that incorporating the Night Stalker case would have been too “messy” and exploitative. Instead, they opt to fictionalize these events, rendering them more metaphorical than tangible. This decision demonstrates their commitment to respecting the victims’ stories.

The parallels between past and present are striking, particularly in the context of our current cultural landscape. As Evan Rachel Wood points out, the ’80s were marked by excess – of all kinds – and this same excess is still evident today. The show’s exploration of “peak Gen X” – a term coined by Brad Simpson to describe the era’s inherent promises and inevitable losses – feels eerily relevant in our own age of social media-fueled anxiety.

In “The Shards,” we’re presented with a world that’s both familiar and foreign, where the lines between reality and fiction are blurred. It’s a world where the horrors of ’80s L.A. still linger, but also one that invites us to confront our own complicity in perpetuating these dark narratives. As we watch Bret Easton Ellis navigate the treacherous waters of his high school classmates’ lives, we’re forced to ask ourselves: what does it mean to be a bystander in this story? And how do we reconcile our fascination with serial killers – and the horrors they represent – with the very real victims who suffered at their hands?

“The Shards” is not just a show about a serial killer; it’s a show about us, about our complicity in these dark stories, and about the ways in which we’re still grappling with the excesses of the past. As Kaia Gerber notes, “In a big way, culturally, we’re still dealing with a lot of things that began in the 1980s for better or worse – the repercussions of that age of indulgence.” By shattering our expectations and challenging us to confront these uncomfortable truths, “The Shards” offers a fresh take on TV’s favorite villain – one that feels both timely and timeless.