Eric (miniseries)

Eric
Genre	Drama Psychological thriller
Created by	Abi Morgan
Written by	Abi Morgan
Directed by	Lucy Forbes
Starring	Benedict Cumberbatch Gaby Hoffmann McKinley Belcher III
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Benedict Cumberbatch Lucy Forbes Abi Morgan Jane Featherstone Lucy Dyke
Producer	Holly Pullinger
Running time	52–55 minutes
Production companies	Sister Little Chick
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)

Eric is a six-part British psychological thriller television miniseries created for the streaming service Netflix, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a distraught puppeteer whose young son goes missing in 1980s New York City. The script was written by Abi Morgan with Lucy Forbes directing and Holly Pullinger producing the series. The series was released on 30 May 2024.

Synopsis

In 1980s New York City, Vincent is a puppeteer in an unhappy marriage whose nine-year-old son, Edgar, goes missing. Vincent's increasingly volatile behavior alienates him from his friends, family, and coworkers. After issues with substance abuse, Vincent becomes convinced that he can reunite with Edgar with the help of his seven-foot-tall puppet, Eric.

Cast

• Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent Anderson
• Ivan Morris Howe as Edgar Anderson
• Gaby Hoffmann as Cassie Anderson
• McKinley Belcher III as Michael Ledroit
• Roberta Colindrez as Ronnie
• Jeff Hephner as Richard Costello
• Wade Allain-Marcus as Alex Gator
• Mark Gillis as William Elliot
• Dan Fogler as Lennie Wilson
• Clarke Peters as George Lovett
• Phoebe Nicholls as Anne Anderson
• David Denman as Cripp
• Bamar Kane as Yuusuf
• Adepero Oduye as Cecile Rochelle
• John Doman as Robert Anderson
• Alexis Molnar as Raya
• Donald Sage Mackay as Jerry
• Bence Orere as Marlon Rochelle
• Orlando Norman as TJ
• José Pimentão as Sebastian

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Episode 1"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
In 1985, New York puppeteer Vincent Anderson, the creator of the long-running children's television series Good Day, Sunshine! and his team face increasing pressure from their network to broaden the show's appeal by introducing new characters. Vincent's son, Edgar, 9, suggests a big blue monster named Eric as a new character, but Vincent is dismissive of the idea. Vincent and his wife Cassie have a loud and bitter argument one night that is clearly audible to Edgar, and the next morning Vincent allows Edgar to walk the few blocks to his school alone. At work, Vincent arrives with a cut on his forehead and ignores many phone calls from Cassie, only to learn upon coming home that Edgar never arrived at school. Shortly after NYPD detective Michael Ledroit takes on the case, a sanitation worker discovers a bloodstained Good Day, Sunshine! t-shirt belonging to Edgar. Ledroit has been investigating a nearby nightclub, The Lux, on Edgar's route to school. He listens to a secret recording he made at The Lux in which a young boy's voice can be heard. Vincent, distraught, resorts to drinking. He begins to focus on Edgar's drawings of Eric after discovering them in the boy's room. The next morning, he begins to imagine that Eric is with him and is encouraging him to search for Edgar. Meanwhile, Edgar's red jacket is seen in the street.
2	"Episode 2"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
Vincent and Cassie make a public appeal for information about Edgar. Ledroit's investigation leads him to the apartment building super, George Lovett, who was imprisoned years ago for a sex offense involving a minor. Ledroit finds evidence in Lovett's apartment that Edgar spent time there. However, during questioning Lovett explains that Edgar often stayed with him when his parents argued. While handing out missing persons posters, Cassie spots a homeless woman wearing a similar red jacket to the one Edgar had. Vincent returns unexpectedly to work and pitches Eric to his boss, Lennie, who convinces executives from their television network to consider Vincent's pitch in an upcoming meeting. Ledroit returns to The Lux, discovering that a kitchen worker's son was the child whose voice he heard on his recording. Upon combing through CCTV footage from the block of the Andersons' apartment, he discovers that Vincent left the building very shortly after Edgar, which is quite different from the account of events Vincent had given him previously. Vincent sets about creating a mock-up of Eric's puppet, all the while plagued by the imaginary Eric, who both encourages him to pursue this idea and cautions him against antagonizing others in his life.
3	"Episode 3"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
Lovett is released and cleared of all charges. Ledroit re-focuses his investigation on Vincent, who is frantically preparing to pitch Eric to the network. During questioning at the police station, Vincent reveals that he had followed Edgar from their building that morning into an alleyway, where the two had a confrontation resulting in his tearing Edgar's t-shirt and then using it to wipe his own blood from wound he sustained in that incident. Nearby CCTV footage confirms Vincent's account of what happened. Vincent is released. Cassie meets and sympathizes with Cecile, the mother of another missing boy, Marlon Rochelle, who disappeared the year before. Vincent delivers a successful pitch to the network. But one of the executives later tells Lennie that they can take on the character of Eric but must be rid of Vincent, citing his volatile behavior. Cecile convinces Ledroit to include Marlon as a part of his investigation despite a lack of evidence of his whereabouts, much to his superior's frustration. In a village for homeless people in the subway, Edgar is revealed to be alive and held in captivity.
4	"Episode 4"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
5	"Episode 5"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)
6	"Episode 6"	Lucy Forbes	Abi Morgan	30 May 2024 (2024-05-30)

Production

Development

Netflix commissioned the six-part series in November 2021 to be made by production companies Little Chick and Sister.

The script was written by Abi Morgan with Lucy Forbes directing and serving as executive producer. Holly Pullinger will produce the series with Cumberbatch starring and acting as executive producer. Jane Featherstone and Lucy Dyke of Sister will also executively produce, and Morgan is also an executive producer via Little Chick.

Casting

In February 2023, it was revealed that joining Cumberbatch in the cast would be Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler, Clarke Peters, Ivan Morris Howe, Phoebe Nicholls, David Denman, Bamar Kane, Adepero Odyue, Alexis Molnar, and Roberta Colindrez. Later the same month, Jeff Hephner and Wade Allain-Marcus joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography began by early 2023 with filming locations including Budapest and New York. Cumberbatch was photographed by the media in the street with glasses and a dark green trench coat.

Release

The series was released on Netflix on 30 May 2024.

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 51 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Startlingly disturbing despite its outwardly fuzzy appearance, Eric is a perverse genre-bender that may not fully articulate all of its ideas but offers a memorably demented binge." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

External links

• Eric on Netflix
• Eric at IMDb