FX’s Upcoming Thriller Series Will Be Euphoria With A Serial Killer

1 week ago 10

Published Jul 23, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT

Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant's TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.

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While Euphoria famously ended on a disappointing note, an upcoming FX show will fill the salacious teen series void... with a serial killer twist. Created by Sam Levinson, Euphoria was a controversial series from the moment it premiered on HBO in 2019. The show drew criticism for its frequent explicit sexual content and nudity involving its teenage characters and for the long wait between seasons, with season 2 airing in 2022 and Euphoria's third and final season releasing in 2026.

While there was a lot of speculated tension behind the scenes, Euphoria's main cast was brilliant in their roles, with many A-list stars breaking out in the series, including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi. For all its backlash, Euphoria was praised for its actors' performances and for its gritty depiction of addiction. Zendaya won two Emmys for her portrayal as teenage drug addict Rue Bennett, while Colman Domingo took home one for his performance as Rue's sponsor, Ali.

A dark, unflinching portrait of what it means to be a teenager in today's society, Euphoria completely changed what a teen drama series could be, and it's one of the most talked-about shows in the genre in recent years. Ryan Murphy's upcoming series for FX and FX on Hulu, The Shards, could very well follow in Euphoria's footsteps. Viewers can see for themselves when The Shards premieres on August 5, 2026.

The Shards Is A Ryan Murphy Campfest Version Of Euphoria With A Serial Killer

The cast of The Shards leans over the edge of a pool

With Sam Levinson serving as Euphoria's sole creator, writer, and director, the series was very much a product of his singular vision, and many critics and viewers felt like the story could have been improved if more voices were involved in the creative process. However, this won't be a danger with The Shards, as not only is it based on American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis's bestselling 2023 novel of the same name, but Ellis is also a co-creator of the series alongside Murphy.

Like Euphoria, The Shards takes place in Southern California, but rather than contemporary middle-class suburbia, the upcoming show centers on affluent prep school students in 1980s Los Angeles. The Shards is a semi-autobiographical account of Ellis's teenage years, with the protagonist, played by Igby Rigney, bearing the author's name.

The story kicks off with new student Robert Mallory (Homer Gere) arriving at The Buckley School. Charismatic, mysterious, and a bit unsettling, Robert slowly worms his way into Bret's inner circle, all while a serial killer nicknamed "The Trawler" has begun terrorizing LA's young and elite.

While Murphy's many TV shows are defined by their signature camp, they often go off the rails if unchecked. Hopefully, Ellis's presence will keep Murphy from taking too far a flight of fancy with The Shards, because the sordid, Euphoria-esque private lives of prep schoolers combined with the thrills of a serial killer story sounds like too good a show to pass up.

The Shards Is Almost Guaranteed To Be Better Than Euphoria Season 3

Rue in an interrogation room in Euphoria

Indeed, The Shards has all the ingredients to pull Murphy out of his recent TV slump. However, even if it doesn't reach the quality of Euphoria's first two seasons, the bar is incredibly low for The Shards to surpass the maligned third season of the HBO show.

From sidelined fan-favorite characters like Nate Jacobs (Elordi) and Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) to Sweeney's needlessly gratuitous scenes to Levinson turning the series into a Western crime thriller that somehow managed to be unhinged and bland at the same time, season 3 was a mess right up to Euphoria's bloated series finale. On the flip side, The Shards is an adaptation of acclaimed source material, so even if it disappoints, it's likely to avoid Euphoria season 3's problems.

Potential issues lie in future seasons, as The Shards is being developed as a full-fledged show, not a miniseries — despite being based on a standalone novel. This especially spells trouble given how Murphy's series tend to unravel the further they progress. Ultimately, though, that's a problem for another day. On August 5, we can sit back, and with any luck, The Shards will scratch the itch left by Euphoria season 3.