Oscar-winner actor Benedict Cumberbatch will take the screens as a famous ‘Jim Henson’-esque puppet master in ‘Eric’, a new miniseries to be premiered on Netflix. Created by Abi Morgan, the show features the puppeteer’s fast downward spiral as he tries to cope with his son’s disappearance. The show also features a closeted, black NYPD detective portrayed by Mckinley Belcher III, who also tries to navigate through the social stigmas to bring Edgar back home. The series will consist of 6 episodes, and will be premiering on May 30. Here’s all you need to know about Netflix’s ‘Eric’:
‘Eric’ Cast:
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent
- McKinley Belcher III as Detective Michael Ledroit
- Gaby Hoffmann as Cassie
- Dan Fogler as Lennie, Vincent’s best friend and colleague.
- Ivan Howe as Edgar
- Bamar Kane as Yuusuf, a friendly man living in the New York tunnels whom Edgar is amiable with
- Clarke Peters as George Lovett, a friendly neighbour of Vincent.
‘Eric’ Plot:
Set in the 80s New York, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Doctor Strange, The Imitation Game) plays Vincent Anderson, one of New York’s leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children’s television show Good Day Sunshine (fictional version of Jim Henson’s Sesame Street). However, his life takes a drastic turn when his son, Edgar (Ivan Howe) goes missing on his way to school.
Struggling to cope with his son missing, Vincent becomes more unstable and volatile, becoming increasingly at odds with his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffman). The loss of his son affects the puppeteer to such an extent that he starts hallucinating his son’s drawings of puppets, most prominently, a blue monster puppet, Eric. Vincent then tries to bring Eric into reality through his show, hoping that it will bring his son back.
Parallelly, the show also follows NYPD Detective Michael Ledroit (Mckinley Belcher III), who is the leading detective in the Missing Persons. Along with Vincent’s story, the show also focuses on themes of racism, sexuality, and other societal topics through Micheal’s character. Micheal attempts to navigate his professional life while hiding his personal one in a time when societal norms were harder on the non-conformative.
‘Eric’ Behind the scenes cast:
The show is written by Emmy award-winning screenwriter Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, The Split). Lucy Forbes (This Is Going To Hurt, The End of the F***ing World) is the series’ director. 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).
When and where to watch Eric?
Eric will be released as a six episode miniseries. The first episode premieres on May 30 on Netflix.