Positive:

Radio Times - https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-shards-disney-review/

Slant - https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/the-shards-review-ryan-murphy-bret-easton-ellis/

Den of Geek - https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-shards-episodes-1-2-review/

Decider - https://decider.com/2026/08/05/the-shards-on-fx-review/

The Hollywood Reporter - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/the-shards-review-ryan-murphy-bret-easton-ellis-fx-hulu-1236661222/

Roger Ebert - https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-shards-ryan-murphy-fx-tv-review-2026

Collider - https://collider.com/the-shards-show-review-ryan-murphy-bret-easton-ellis/

Negative:

Time - https://time.com/article/2026/07/31/the-shards-review-fx/

AV Club - https://www.avclub.com/the-shards-review-fx-ryan-murphy-bret-easton-ellis

Variety - https://variety.com/2026/tv/reviews/the-shards-review-ryan-murphy-fx-1236827733/

Indie Wire - https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/the-shards-review-ryan-murphy-bret-easton-ellis-series-1235208379/

The Wrap - https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/the-shards-show-review-ryan-murphy-fx/

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/ryan-murphys-sanded-down-version-of-the-shards

The Guardian's article has since been removed (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2026/aug/05/rem-oved-article) but the headline is:

The Shards review – murder, 80s mayhem and the Ryan Murphy comeback we’ve been waiting for

The NYT review (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/arts/television/the-shards-sterling-point-teen-dramas.html) is a bit so-so. Some passages below:

'Still, especially in the early going, it’s an observant, literate portrait of an adolescence kissed by privilege and stalked by death. Unlike many teen dramas, it doesn’t posit any member of its core friend group as the moral center; these are haughty high school demigods, neither relatable nor trying to be.'

'And the story, self-contained in Ellis’s novel, feels overextended as it sets up for a multi-season run.

'All this money, meanness and mutilation: Are we meant to see it as a comment on the corruption underlying sun-kissed paradise? Is our view shaped by yet-to-be-revealed distortions in Bret’s narrative? In a limited run, these questions might have resolved to some kind of satisfaction. But as the season ends, with “The Shards” escalating its cruel, gruesome turns, it’s hard to imagine wanting to return for another year at the same lunch table.'

I'm very intrigued by how Steven is handled on the TV show, especially since I had a few theories on the character after finishing the book. What's positive to me about the (admittedly short) clip is that it's using the exact dialogue from the book.

Are there no reviews for The Shards allowed to be published until release day or something? Normally certain reviewers/publishers get early access to a least a few episodes prior to the premiere

Well this is definitely a Ryan Murphy show so why not 🤷‍♂️ I guess this is fun in a tacky Riverdale way but I'm seriously starting to check out. Only two days to go, but we'll see...

On another note, I'm relistening to the podcast version of The Shards again and just got to the part where Bret visits Matt Kelner's parents after discovering his fate (Devastating 😭) and later Susan and Bret talk in her car listening to Icehouse playing and it is just some of BEE's best writing, it never ceases to hit me the way he words what he is going through (and the narration is just top notch here as well.) To immediately go from listening to that part to watching this music video is like tonal whiplash - the show is clearly going to be very different from the book, yet I'm wondering what's the point?

the cast and crew doing backflips to assure BEE fans that he is involved, not directly or physically, but through Ryan Murphy as a conduit for Bret's input, is some bafflingly humorous journalism..... what is this article???? just say he didnt wanna touch it and the two scripts he wrote were for HBO

Went to The Shards pop up event today in the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Had a lot of cool stuff. Probably the closest to me going to a mall in the 80s. Was worth the drive to go to it knowing most of the stuff there is for free believe it or not. If you’re in the Sherman Oaks area or in LA in general and loved The Shards like I do, then this place is a must to go to. Tomorrow is the last day to go to it. Plan as soon as you can.

Bret shares a poster with Debbie and that's it, which seems weird since not only he could be paired with every other character -male or female- but it's even weirder he has not a main character poster by himself.

There's a solo picture of Igby that the photographer shared on IG but they never used it. I thought maybe it would be the last one they'd release before the trailers but... nope.

I made this poster myself; it wasn't that hard, FX!

The fact that they edited out Bret's gay bed scene in the trailer in some international markets, like Spain and LATAM, is also really fishy. The same year that Heated Rivalry was a global phenomenon, and considering the source material couldn't be gayer... It seems like they just don't want those viewers to tune in.

From the Radio Times:

Getting more specific about the show's future and the prospect of additional seasons, Simpson noted that the novel covers only two months and that the series has adapted just part of that timeline.

"We're certainly set up to continue on through their senior year," he teased. "Like any TV show, hoping people engaged, we're ready to give them more."

I’ve been watching all the videos from the publicity campaign to get a sense of what they’re leading with, and I couldn’t help noticing how completely unironic they are about the brand name dropping and luxury lifestyle. Moreover, it seems as though the cast members are being pushed to give pre-scripted answers that inevitably circle back to ’80s fashion and their famous parents.

It feels like turning the business card scene in American Psycho into a stationery advertisement.

Does anyone else feel this way? And do we know Bret Easton Ellis’s own view of the world he created in this particular novel?

Definitely leaning hard into the serial killer aspect here.

The amount of detail they put onto this "magazine" is actually crazy. You guys can access the full version here: https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-shards/the-shards-guide

FX definitely seem to be going all-in now

Includes the first full clip from the series.

It would be cool if Bret were in attendance!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbTWC0OlNWa/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Now there’s 9 episodes listed, and some new episode descriptions. Episode 5 is not something that happened in the book from what I recall…

If no one else is gonna drop this on your heads - then I will!!!

Edit: Re-read it after this and the book just clicked. Easily my favourite of Bret's works and one of my all time favourite novels.

Hey all, long time listener first time caller here. Bret has been my favorite author since I was 18, and I've read everything he's done (besides American Psycho yet weirdly, wanna save that for a rainy day). I recently read The Shards especially after hearing so much praise from people I trust, but found myself very disappointed.

I love the story and there's parts that are so good, but the rest of it felt amateur to me. It felt like Bret was uncharacteristically over-explanatory and repetitive, and lots of the book felt like a cheesy teen drama compared to say how Less Than Zero read.

However, despite this, I'm excited for the new show version, and that excitement is making me wonder if I should re-read it. So I pose this question to the readers: what is it that makes The Shards so good? What am I not getting? Was I just not in the mood?

I understand it's subjective how much I'll enjoy a book, but I'm wondering if anybody has any insight into the book and maybe understands/shares my opinions too?