Weekend Pick or Pass: The Shards (2026) on Moviebox

Grab that blanket and get cozy; we’re starting ‘The Shards.’ This new series is set to give us a unique take on how we spend our Friday nights, unlike the trashy thrillers or relaxing comfort TV that populate the rest of the week. With Ryan Murphy doing theatrical and even disturbing anthologies and Bret Easton Ellis producing the series, you’ll probably think you’ll get something outrageous. You do, just not how you might think.

‘The Shards’ starts in the picturesque, elite Buckley Academy in 80s LA. ‘The Shards’ follows Bret Easton Ellis’s last year in high school. Ellis, with Igby Rigney playing him, portrays all the anxieties of a typical damaged teenager in Hollywood’s high society with all the emotions of high self-discovery and privilege. Things start to get interesting for him when this social order using a mixture of privilege and wealth gets disturbed by the appearance of Robert Mallory. This isn’t the only thing happening to Bret; it’s also the prescient lone psychopath dubbed ‘The Trawler.’ This is the setting of a prolonged psychologically intense drama interspersed between the seemingly mundane events of day to day life.

So if you’re expecting a conventional whodunit on The Shards, you might be a little bored. Similar to Ellis’s work, this series and the characters are more focused on the slow burn undermining of reality and paranoia rather than mad dash plot twists. Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere give the young cast their edgy charm and angst with their performances, and fit perfectly amongst the on screen claustrophobia of the prestige school system. This series organically develops the plot in a methodical and somewhat leisurely way to maintain the sense of ominous dread and foreboding throughout each individual scene The series takes a tonal approach of capturing the attitude of the era with a pervasive perspective of the entitled teenage cruelty, and the disquieting unease of the ever-present adolescent violence lurking below the surface. In typical Murphy fashion, there is an abundance of style, however it is used restrained and as an accent to the era rather than allow the narrative to take a back seat to style. It's more American Psycho than American Horror Story, the mood vs the violence.

Drifting Through the Labyrinth of Privilege and Paranoia

The most enjoyment I got from ‘The Shards’ was how the show was unapologetically its own when it came to its tone and rhythm. As with all art forms, this isn’t a show that will guide your hand. This is a show that wants you to view, think, and experience the unsettling nature that comes with The Trawler’s mayhem. Sunny drenched Southern California and the numerous gruesome acts of The Trawler make for a wonderful case of cognitive dissonance. The presence of an ever-looming danger is made more frightening by the fact that it can either be seen, or felt like a creepy webulating dread as these students go about their perfect lives with a threat that always remains on the outskirts. Eating away at an already creeping anxiety that the world is most certainly a frightening place of which Bret is only just beginning to comprehend with the help of Robert Mallory and Bret’s anxieties combined. Blurring the line of what really is terror, anxiety, and adolescent angst is one of the shows strongest points. ‘The Shards’ is a show that clearly trusts its audience to enjoy the hinted and the insinuated over the splashy and overt.

There’s some intentional pacing that differentiates this from its peers, but the drawn out segments don’t make the story that much more atmospheric. I felt myself losing interest around the halfway point and felt the need to look at the clock to see if the end was in sight, because the story was losing forward momentum. A slow burn is alright, but the story actually takes several steps back and shows overly long sequences of teenage angst that felt unnecessary to the overall plot. Others, and perhaps most critics, would call this ‘style over substance’ easily, and I’d agree. While it is clear that the creative team is very much invested in the noir mystery vibes, and want the minute details, it often feels like they’re prioritizing the plot less and less. If you don’t like it when a show takes too long to reveal the big plot, you probably won’t like this. Falling Winter has low audience scores and reviews, so many would say it’s actually lacking in entertainment value, but I could see some viewers enjoying it and finding more depth to the show

A Weekend Call: Saturday Night's Introspective Centrepiece

What do you do with 'The Shards'? This isn't your Friday night opener, meant to break the monotony of the work week. Nor is this your Sunday night watch, meant to prepare you for the coming week. 'The Shards' is a Saturday night centrepiece. But with a warning. It's for the viewer who wants to watch less-conventional and more atmospheric dramas without being bored, and enjoys watching things that seem like a somewhat eerie dream. 'The Shards' demands a lot of you. It requires you watching intently, remaining patient, and immersing yourself. This series is not meant for people who want a youtube watch. It will most likely remain in your mind after and prompt discussion for weeks to come. It is a darker take on the world, and takes you through scenes that are unpleasant, but the world that is created will definitely keep your attention. So if you're a fan of Bret Easton Ellis or Ryan Murphy, you should definitely give 'The Shards' a watch. It's an interesting series that will keep you engaged and wanting more.