United Kingdom, Aug. 7 -- Ryan Murphy was "shocked" at how emotional he was working on The Shards.

The TV mogul has teamed up with Bret Easton Ellis for a small screen adaptation of the latter's semi-autobiographical novel, which follows his life as a 17-year-old as its turned upside down when a serial killer sets their sights on his prep school.

The Shards also tackles the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the subject matter leaving Ryan "emotional" .

He said: "I was shocked at how emotional I was. I was shocked. So many times we'd be shooting it, and there would be a song or a moment, and I would get really emotional and leave the set,

"I cried. I cried, not just because it was my childhood, but because 1981 - I was 16, and I had my first dat...