Ryan Murphy has said author Bret Easton Ellis made just one request when it came to adapting his 2023 novel The Shards for television: that it not become a limited series.

The Glee creator, 60, was not the first filmmaker to attempt to bring the semi-autobiographical story from the American Psycho author to the screen. The book was originally optioned by HBO and was being developed by Challengers director Luca Guadagnino.

When that version fell through, Murphy stepped in to make the series, which stars Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere, for FX.

Speaking to Variety, Murphy recalled that Ellis was initially dubious that it would ever recover from the failure at HBO.

“Bret was kind of heartbroken about it, and he kept saying, ‘I know this is never going to get made,’” said Murphy. “I was like, ‘You don’t understand! I have greenlight power. I’m telling you, I want to make it.’”

Ellis ultimately gave Murphy his blessing to adapt the book his own way, saying: “If you have any questions, call me, and otherwise, go with God.”

However, the 62-year-old writer did request that the story be given as much screen time as possible. Murphy explained: “When I first met with him, he didn’t really want to do it as a limited series.”

Murphy continued: “He always thought this could be a three-year dramatic series, if not longer. I like that idea. You have the space and time and energy. You’re not doing nine or 10 episodes. You’re going to try and do 30. That’s how I could add some of my own personal things in there.”

The Shards premiered on August 5, 2026 and has not yet been officially greenlit for a second season.

Earlier this week, the show’s stars Homer Gere and Kaia Gerber opened up about how they acknowledged the shared history between their parents, Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford.

The celebrity pairing were famously married from 1991 to 1995, before each later remarried and welcomed their children separately.

Despite their parents’ previous romantic relationship, Homer and Kaia only recently met for the first time ahead of production on The Shards.

Recalling their first meeting in a new interview with Vogue, Homer revealed: “Twenty minutes into knowing each other, I was like, ‘Should we just acknowledge the fact that our parents were married?’ She was like, ‘Yeah. Cool.’ And that was it.”

New episodes of The Shards arrive Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Hulu and FX, with the finale airing September 9.