Bret Easton Ellis was sold on turning The Shards into a TV series after Ryan Murphy told him that 1981 was the most important year of his life. Now Murphy is waiting on FX to find out if that pitch paid off.
FX wrapped up The Shards with its season finale in early August, and the episode ended on a cliffhanger. Since then, three-plus weeks have passed without any statement from the Disney-owned network regarding a second season. The lack of communication is not necessarily a negative sign, given that FX has a history of moving slowly when it comes to making renewal decisions. Still, the silence does carry some significance, and it brings up a question about how much influence Murphy holds within Disney today.
Murphy’s Deal With 20th Television
Disney’s 20th Television holds a major overall deal with Murphy, who also carries a longstanding partnership with the studio and FX. His shows kept producing new seasons even while he was stationed at Netflix, those being ones made by his own 20th production company.
Across Murphy’s anthology series, the same spacing between seasons shows up. The last season of American Horror Story ended with a break before the next one premiered Sept. 24, and there was a nearly seven-year space between seasons one and two of Feud. These are anthology shows, though, so one season doesn’t always follow directly from the one before it — save for the huge heap of AHS lore that does carry over.
The format for The Shards calls for a series that follows the same group of characters across a long period of time. That fact alters the approach to pacing. Leaving a gap of two or three years between seasons would let the suspense created at the end of one season sit unresolved for far too long, which is not the sort of open ending that Murphy typically uses.
How Murphy Sold Ellis on The Shards
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Murphy about selling Ellis on teaming up, and his argument hinged on a single claim: 1981, the year the book is set, was the most important year of his life.
“My pitch to him was that 1981, the year the book is set, was the most important year of my life in many ways,” Murphy said. “That was the year I turned 16. That was my first date. My first driving lesson. I lost my virginity. On and on and on. I really understood those kids, and particularly, the Bret character.”
A writer’s connection to the material is personal, and he made that case directly to Ellis, and the story concerns a group of L.A. prep school kids in the early ’80s and a possible serial killer in their midst.
The Cliffhanger That Has Not Been Answered
Murphy has used cliffhangers before to hold audiences’ attention at the end of a season, and The Shards finished with one. However, the timing of the return matters. A brief pause between seasons, say three weeks, can work well for a pickup announcement. A much longer delay, such as three months, starts to read more like a warning than a tease.
FX tends to wait before making renewal calls. The network took months to pick up Adults and The Lowdown after their first seasons wrapped, both shows well received by critics. Murphy’s own work follows the same pattern.
This collection stands apart from anthology series. It follows a set cast across a sustained narrative, building suspense between episodes instead of ending stories outright. A delay of three weeks between installments can feel more like holding back than careful thought.
What Nobody Outside Disney Knows About The Shards
No one outside of Disney really knows how well The Shards performed for FX and Hulu. The linear ratings were small — an average of 237,000 viewers for initial airings on FX — but that is par for the course for a scripted cable series now. A great majority of the show’s audience will come from streaming, but The Shards never made Nielsen’s streaming top 10s.
FX hasn’t released any of its own data. Neither of those facts is out of the ordinary either: Most FX shows don’t break into the streaming charts, and the outlet rarely does ratings PR. The lack of information means the show’s fate is being decided behind closed doors at Disney.
The Second Murphy-Produced Show to End on a Cliffhanger Without a Pickup
This year, Murphy produced more than one FX show that ended on a cliffhanger and was not renewed. One of them, The Beauty, concluded its run in early March with plenty of unresolved plot threads; in July, the cast was set free.
(Love Story, which FX did point to as a ratings success, also hasn’t been renewed, but it may fall under the aforementioned “when the right idea hits” plan for Murphy’s anthologies.)
The arrangement points to a worry about Murphy’s standing at Disney. With two Murphy-produced shows closing on cliffhangers and neither getting renewed, the situation appears less a matter of chance and more a change in how the network handles his work.
What the Silence Might Mean
A pickup announcement has yet to come, and that alone does not mean The Shards has been canceled. FX might renew it tomorrow. The trend, however, is worrying. Murphy’s anthology series have historically had lengthy breaks between seasons, and some have been renewed eventually — even after months passed without an announcement.
A serialized drama operates on its own terms, and the format creates a distinct set of expectations for audiences. A cliffhanger calls for resolution, and when that resolution arrives after three weeks instead of immediately, the delay can feel like hesitation rather than considered pacing.
The Bottom Line on Murphy’s Sway at Disney
If The Shards gets a second season, it may be a sign of Murphy’s relationships at Disney more than of the show’s popularity. His deal with 20th Television is part of the picture, and his long working relationship with both the studio and FX means that when he’s ready with an idea, they’re ready to back it.
A cliffhanger is a promise made to viewers, and keeping that promise unanswered leaves a question still open. The show wrapped three weeks ago. The audience has been waiting since then. The network has remained silent on the matter.
Source material: “Will ‘The Shards’ Return? FX Show Tests Ryan Murphy’s Sway In Disney Empire,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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