FX and Ryan Murphy Productions’ drama series The Shards is adding to its cast.
Jordan Roth, a Tony Award-winning producer, will have a recurring role in the series, an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name. Details of Roth’s role are being kept quiet for now.
Roth — who has produced Kinky Boots, Hadestown, Moulin Rouge!, and the 2021 revival of Company on Broadway, among numerous other shows — joins a cast that also features Kaia Gerber, Igby Rigney, Homer Gere, Wes Bentley, Graham Campbell and Hayes Warner.
Ellis’ novel is set in the early 1980s and contains some autobiographical elements from the author’s life. It centers on Bret (Rigney), a student at an elite L.A. prep school whose world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory (Gere), which coincides with the murders of a serial killer.
Ellis released The Shards as a serialized audiobook via his podcast in 2020-21, with a print version published in 2023. A different series project based on the novel had been set up at HBO but didn’t make it out of development. As The Hollywood Reporter noted in February, he began talks with Ellis to develop the project under his Ryan Murphy Television, which is based at 20th TV (the latter will produce the FX show). FX gave the show a series order in July.
Murphy executive produces The Shards with Ellis, Nick Hall, Kathleen McCaffrey, Brian Young and director Max Winkler.
Roth is the creative director of ATG Entertainment and was president of Jujamcyn Theaters for 15 years prior to the two companies combining operations in 2023. He’s also known for his collaborations with fashion designers (frequently showcased on his social media pages) and earlier this year debuted a performance piece titled “Radical Acts of Unrelenting Beauty” at the Louvre. He is repped by UTA and attorney Jordan Manekin.
