Two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch stars in Netflix’s Eric, a six-episode limited series inspired by true events. The streaming service has set a May 30, 2024 premiere date and unveiled the first batch of photos from the drama created by writer and executive producer Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady).
In a feature on Netflix’s Tudum, series creator Morgan described the limited series as “a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980s New York — and the good, bad, and ugly world of Vincent.”
“Set in 1980s New York, Eric is a new emotional thriller from Abi Morgan following the desperate search of a father when his nine-year-old son disappears one morning on the way to school. Vincent, one of New York’s leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children’s television show, Good Day Sunshine, struggles to cope with the loss of his son, Edgar, becoming increasingly distressed and volatile,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “Full of self-loathing and guilt around Edgar’s disappearance, he clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet, ERIC, convinced that if he can get ERIC on TV then Edgar will come home. As Vincent’s progressively destructive behavior alienates his family, his work colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it’s Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes his only ally in the pursuit to bring his son home.”
In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch, the series stars Gaby Hoffmann as Cassie, McKinley Belcher III as lead detective Ledroit, and Ivan Howe as Edgar. The cast also includes Dan Fogler and Clarke Peters.
Cumberbatch serves as an executive producer along with Jane Featherstone, Lucy Dyke, and Lucy Forbes. Forbes directs and Holly Pullinger is a producer.