Homer Gere says Robert is no killer — and may not be real at all

Homer Gere is sure about one thing after The Shards finale: Robert Mallory didn't do it.

Gere plays Robert in Ryan Murphy's television adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel The Shards, and he told The Hollywood Reporter that he thinks his character is “definitely not the killer.” He has a theory that goes further. Robert, he said, is not real at all.

Gere is the son of Richard Gere. He came to The Shards straight from the final season of Euphoria, with two days off in between the jobs, according to the same interview.

The first season ran for nine episodes. Its finale is titled “Stairway to Heaven” and was released on Hulu, as reported by Elle. It ends on a cliffhanger. That was by design.

Murphy and Ellis plan to turn The Shards into a three- or four-season series. The show had not been officially renewed for a second season at the time of the finale coverage, which leaves it on the bubble, meaning a renewal is still undecided.

Gere's reading of Robert centres on reflection. He said he sees Robert as a mirror for the people around him rather than a person in his own right. It is his own theory, not a confirmation from the writers, and he offered it while discussing the finale.

On screen, Robert is the volatile centre of a group of privileged Los Angeles teenagers in the early 1980s. Igby Rigney plays Bret, Kaia Gerber plays Susan Reynolds and Graham Campbell plays Thom. Episode 4 is titled “Robert's Party.” In a later episode, Robert hurls himself into a pool during an erratic dance sequence that turns violent, and has to be resuscitated.

Gere has defended Robert in softer terms before, telling TV Insider that “I think he's trying his best.” Jordan Roth also stars in the series, and he told Entertainment Weekly that an unscripted moment slipped into his season-finale face-off scene with Gere.

What makes this stand out is how openly the cast are debating the mystery. For fans, this means the central question is still live. Is Robert the threat, a decoy, or something stranger?