With Ryan Murphy already having built a television empire – from Glee, American Horror Story, All’s Fair, Monster and more – The Shards features Murphy’s ongoing sharp episodic storytelling efforts in top form. Set in the early 1980s, The Shards follows a group of rich and privileged high school friends as they navigate relationships, drugs, career ambitions and their sexuality – all while a killer preys on teenagers within their California community.
Starring Igby Rigney, Kaia Gerber, Hayes Warner, Graham Campbell, Homer Gere, Jordan Roth and Evan Rachel Wood, The Shards transports modern viewers to a time before the distractions of cell phones and social media – when landline phones and having to talk face-to-face with one another was standard. Plus, with its nostalgic music, fashion and set designs, The Shards reveals the intriguing highs and lows of that era.
Jeff speaks with Igby Rigney, Kaia Gerber, Homer Gere, Hayes Warner, Graham Campbell, Evan Rachel Wood, and Jordan Roth about bringing the seductive, unsettling world of The Shards to the screen—and even makes his case for joining Season 2 as Clark Kent.
What makes a Ryan Murphy production incomparable?
The cast of The Shards explain how Murphy combines glamour, darkness, music, and unforgettable characters through a singular creative vision. “He not only allows but encourages you to be very extreme and go to some really heightened places,” says Kaia Gerber. “It’s so maximum. Everything is turned up to 10,” adds Homer Gere.
The cast also praises Murphy for creating a safe environment in which actors can take risks, describing him as a specific and reassuring director who became so close with the ensemble that he felt like “one of the Shards.”
