A teenage drama packed with betrayal? Sounds pretty rad. Author Bret Easton Ellis teamed up with Ryan Murphy to bring his semi-autobiographical novel, The Shards, to television as one of FX and Hulu’s most highly anticipated TV shows. A departure from Murphy’s American Horror Story, American Crime Story and Monster anthological universes, The Shards introduces viewers to life in glamorous, and evidently murder-ridden, 1980s Los Angeles, California, following the lives of privileged high school students.

Since Ellis was involved in the production, readers are curious how the series will compare and contrast with the original work. But for those who haven’t yet read the story, some are wondering if this was based on a true story from Ellis’ life.

Below, Hollywood Life breaks down Ellis’ novel in comparison to the FX series, and we have exclusive details from the cast below.

Is Bret Easton Ellis’ The Shards Book Based on a True Story?

Not technically. Ellis’ book is a semi-autobiographical work, so it was inspired by real events from his life. However, the novel is a dramatized and heightened story.

In reality, the author published his first novel, Less Than Zero, in 1985, based on his own experiences as a privileged teenager living in L.A. At the time, he was a 21-year-old student at Bennington College.

As for the FX series, the trailer hints that Ellis’ on-screen character could be trying to sell his manuscript in his senior year of high school, as Wes Bentley‘s character, Terry, asks if his story includes the drama of teenage life, such as experimenting with sex and drugs.

The Shards Book vs. FX Series: The Differences

Since the new FX and Hulu series has yet to premiere, fans will just have to wait until they can see how Murphy and Ellis himself adapted the story for the screen.

But as readers already know, almost all book-to-screen adaptations wind up cutting or altering aspects from the original work.

During an exclusive red carpet interview with Hollywood Life at The Shards‘ New York City premiere ahead of its FX and Hulu release, cast member Owen Painter — who plays recurring character Matt Kellner — explained how the series followed Ellis’ novel.

“With the book, we did our best to match the quality of that writing,” the Wednesday star pointed out, adding that it was “so deeply researched.”

His co-star Daniel Dale, who portrays Ryan Vaughn in the show, echoed that sentiment to Hollywood Life while explaining how the show will also resonate with audiences who actually went to high school in the ’80s.

“It’s pretty faithful to that time period, and the people that were on set that did grow up in LA in that time period [were around],” he said.

Who Is in The Shards FX Cast?

The Shards cast features rising Gen-Z talents, and, of course, a few Hollywood heavyweights. Igby Rigney stars as Bret Easton Ellis, Homer Gere plays Robert Mallory, Graham Campbell plays Thom Wright, Hayes Warner is Debbie Shaffer, and Kaia Gerber plays Susan Reynolds.

Bentley, famous for his roles in The Hunger Games, Interstellar, Mission: Impossible — Fallout and Yellowstone, plays Terry.