FX has dropped the first trailer for Ryan Murphy‘s drama The Shards, based on Bret Easton Ellis‘ novel.

The Shards, from 20th Television and Ryan Murphy Productions is set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, and follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.

Igby Rigney stars as Bret, an aspiring writer and keenly observant teenager whose reality begins to unravel with the arrival of a mysterious and magnetic new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere). Transferring in just before his senior year, Robert’s appearance coincides with the growing terror of The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city. 

Alongside Bret is his elite social circle, including Susan Reynolds (Kaia Gerber), Debbie Schaffer (Hayes Warner) and Thom Wright (Graham Campbell), a glamorous and deeply entangled group drawn into a life of wealth, beauty, parties and excess. The promise of their youth is contrasted with the dark and cynical world of the adults surrounding them: Terry Schaffer (Wes Bentley), Liz Schaffer (Evan Rachel Wood) and Steven Reinhardt (Jordan Roth).

Gere’s (son of Richard Gere) Robert Mallory and Wright’s Graham Campbell are key characters in Ellis’ novel.

Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Ellis, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich, Tanase Popa, Nick Hall, Michael Uppendahl, Max Winkler, Kathleen McCaffrey and Brian Young executive produce. The series is produced by 20th Television.

The series debuts on August 5.