In 1980s New York, the creator of a popular puppet-based children's TV show, Good Day Sunshine, grapples with the disappearance of his nine-year-old son, while his already strained marriage falls apart. Meanwhile, the detective in charge of this missing-person case uncovers a wave of corruption, and struggles with his secret life as a gay man against the backdrop of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Oh, and that dad whose child is missing? He starts hallucinating the presence of a giant monster puppet that follows him around the city.
‘It's not an obvious recipe, is it?’ Total Film is speaking to writer and showrunner Abi Morgan about Eric, her peculiar new limited series for Netflix. The Emmy and BAFTAwinning writer of shows The Hour, The Split and River, as well as Steve McQueen's film Shame, Morgan excitingly blends gritty naturalism with fantastical fable in her latest project.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as both the puppeteer, Vincent Anderson, and the voice of the creature, Eric, that star Gaby Hoffmann is his long-suffering wife, Cassie; screen newcomer Ivan Morris Howe plays Edgar, their seemingly abducted son; and the compelling McKinley Belcher III () is Michael Ledroit, the detective put under pressure by his superiors after they realise that the missing Edgar is the grandson of a powerful local tycoon ('s John Doman).
