Eric: Benedict Cumberbatch employs a unique tactic in an attempt to find his missing son in the first look of the new Netflix film

Last Updated on March 26, 2024

Netflix gives us the first look at the upcoming limited series Eric. The suspense drama stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffman, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler and Clarke Peters. Stills from the movie have been released with a trailer presumably following soon. The thriller is inspired by a true story and will feature six episodes as it premieres on the streaming platform on May 30.

The official synopsis from Netflix reads,
“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. 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.”

The creative forces behind Eric include Lucy Forbes (This Is Going To Hurt, The End of the F***ing World), who directs the series. Morgan, Cumberbatch, and Forbes executive produce alongside Jane Featherstone (Chernobyl, This Is Going to Hurt) and Lucy Dyke (The Split, Black Mirror), with Holly Pullinger (This Is Going to Hurt, Don’t Forget the Driver) producing. Eric is produced by Sister (Chernobyl, This Is Going to Hurt, Landscapers)and co-produced by Little Chick (The Split). 

Executive producers Featherstone and Dyke told Netflix, “When Abi first pitched Eric to us, it gave us goose bumps. It’s an extraordinary piece of writing, inspired by Abi’s experience of New York in the mid-1980s, a city rotten to its core but on the cusp of change.”