Ryan Murphy took a different approach when bringing Bret Easton Ellis’ novel “The Shards” to television.
The producer explained that becoming a father and working with a largely young cast influenced how he handled the story’s intimate scenes.
In an August 6 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan reflected on his history of creating shows centered on teenagers.
“I’ve done a couple of shows with high school characters, and I love doing them,” Ryan said. “I think that arena is really interesting.”
The “Glee” and “American Horror Story” creator described adolescence as a time filled with significant first experiences, including a first kiss, relationship and breakup.
That perspective helped shape his adaptation of “The Shards,” even though the source material includes more explicit sexual content.
Parenthood Changed His Perspective
Ryan, who shares three sons with husband David Miller, said parenthood affected how he approached the material.
“I’ve done erotic shows, sexual shows,” he said, according to Us Weekly. “I wanted it to be tasteful and palatable.”
Rather than focusing heavily on sexuality, Ryan viewed the story as one about romance and longing.
He also wanted the series to appeal to different generations, including viewers who grew up during the 1980s and younger audiences who are now close in age to its teenage characters.
“In the back of my mind, I was always like, ‘Being too graphic and too sensational is not the way to go,’” he said.
Keeping the Young Cast Comfortable
Ryan said intimacy coordinators helped the production approach sensitive scenes responsibly.
Many members of the show’s cast are relatively new actors, and Ryan did not want anyone to feel pressured or placed in an uncomfortable situation.
“The thing I always lead with actors is, ‘What do you feel comfortable doing?’” he said. “I always empower actors in those situations.”
Ryan described the final scenes as tasteful but predicted that they would still generate conversation among viewers.
He also joked that getting older has made him “an old Victorian prude,” particularly when considering what needs to be shown onscreen.
Inside “The Shards”
Based on Ellis’ 2023 novel, “The Shards” is set in Los Angeles in 1981.
The story follows a fictionalized 17-year-old version of Ellis during his senior year at an elite private school. His life is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious new student named Robert Mallory.
Robert’s appearance coincides with a series of crimes connected to a serial killer known as the Trawler, leading the teenager into a world of suspicion, obsession and danger.
Igby Rigney stars as Ellis, while the cast also includes Homer Gere and Kaia Gerber.
Igby previously told Us Weekly that Ryan often asked the cast to perform scenes in several different ways without revealing which version would appear in the final episode.
“Ryan was really fun in the way that he directed us,” Igby said. The actor also found the show’s narration challenging because he sometimes had to quietly concentrate on long passages while everyone around him continued filming.
“The Shards” airs Wednesdays on FX.
