Abhiroop Das
Created by Ryan Murphy, FX’s ‘The Shards’ is a fresh take on Bret Easton Ellis‘ eponymous novel about a group of friends having an unusual coming of age in the 80s. With the arrival of a serial killer named Trawler, all of Los Angeles is caught between the dazzle of the era and the fear of being attacked. Episode 5 of this psychological mystery drama show, though, takes a break from the main plot and follows the friends into a live dance show, where they must flex their skills and compete for votes. Only one can emerge as the winner of ‘Dance Off!,’ and as the charming but secretly troubled host, Tony Cruz, starts off the events, all worries seem to be forgotten. However, as the name of the episode, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor,’ implies, piace can be taken for granted.
Dance Off! is a Fictional Show Designed to Evoke the Reality TV Classics of the 80s
‘Dance Off!’ is a fictional dance reality show loosely based on the popular dance shows of the 80s. While the rest of the show is a faithful adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel ‘The Shards,’ episode 5, centered around ‘Dance Off!,’ is a TV-original creation by Ryan Murphy and his writing team. The idea was spurred after the making of episode 4, which adapts one of the most iconic and intense moments in the book. “Ryan was asking, ‘What can I do next to top that?’ And also like, ‘What’s going to be as fun?’” Brad Simpson, executive producer of the show, recalled in a conversation with Decider.
The concept for a dance show-centric episode primarily came from Ryan’s love for the 80s pop culture niches. Simpson explained, ““He came in one day to the writer’s room and said, ‘You know, there were a series of dance shows throughout the ’70s and the ’80s that [he] loved.” Ryan then went on to add that these shows had a profound effect on the teens of that era, leaving many “jealous of the kids that were on it.” While neither Simpson nor Ryan named any particular show from the 80s, there are quite a lot that might have served as the inspiration for ‘Dance Off!.’ That said, one show in particular seems to have the most striking resemblance.
Tony Cruz is Likely a Blend of Many Iconic Dance Show Hosts
‘Dancin’ On Air,’ a Philadelphia-based live dance and music reality show, began airing on October 12, 1981, which matches up with the fictional timeline of ‘The Shards.’ To top it off, ‘Dancin’ On Air’ was popular for featuring local dance and music talents, who would perform to contemporary music. While quite similar to ‘Dance Off!,’ the fact that the real-life show was set quite far from Los Angeles suggests it likely served only as a loose reference. Incidentally, another music and dance reality show, named ‘Soul Train,’ was based in Los Angeles around the same period, and was famously hosted by the iconic Don Cornelius.
In ‘The Shards,’ Tony Cruz hosts ‘Dance Off!’ and sports a remarkably similar hairstyle to Don’s, but apart from that, there appears to be no major connection between them. Instead, it’s likely that Ryan Murphy and his team took broad inspiration from a number of popular hosts from the time, and created a composite figure in the form of Cruz, who has his own, show-specific backstory. Actor Anthony Ramos, who also collaborated with Murphy to play the role of the assassin in ‘The Beauty,’ steps into the shoes of Cruz, crafting a performance that is reminiscent of the 80s charm, but still retains its fictionality
Read More: The Trawler and the Riders of the Afterlife: Are They Based on Real Serial Killers in The Shards?
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