Eric – Series Review | Netflix

ERIC on Netflix is a new thriller miniseries about a young boy who goes missing in New York City in 1985. The series has six episodes and a stellar cast led by Benedict Cumberbatch. Read our full Eric (2024) series review here!

ERIC is a new Netflix miniseries in six parts. It’s a thriller, mystery, and crime story set in the very real political challenges of New York City in 1985. Crime rates, the AIDS epidemic, drugs, and homelessness are brutal challenges in the city, where corruption also impacts the government of the Big Apple.

This makes for a stunning and eerie backdrop for a story about a young boy who goes missing. All six episodes are intriguing and engaging in their own way. The cast is brilliant and the characters wonderfully fleshed-out. Also, Benedict Cumberbatch is scary-good in the lead role.

Continue reading our Eric (2024) miniseries review below. Find it on Netflix from May 30, 2024.

Welcome to New York in the 1980s

ERIC is set in 1980s New York, where we meet Vincent just before his son goes missing. Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of New York’s leading puppeteers. He’s the creator of the extremely popular children’s television show “Good Day Sunshine” and it all has a huge Jim Henson vibe.

Unfortunately for Vincent, he drinks a lot (and takes any drug he comes close to) which really doesn’t go well with his underlying mental illness. It also isn’t good for someone working on a show for kids and has a young son at home.

One morning, after yet another brutal fight between his parents, nine-year-old Edgar disappears. He’s the son of Vincent and Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann). He disappears on the way to school. The one morning he goes by himself, despite Cassie’s insisting that Vincent should walk him there.

With the crime rate in New York in the 1980s, it’s not difficult to understand why she didn’t feel safe with her 9-year-old walking by himself.

Needless to say, this makes for two desperate parents who react in very different ways. Cassie tries to focus on doing whatever it takes to find Edgar – and yes, also blames Vincent – while Vincent drinks even more than ever before. However, he also has a plan which involves a new puppet named “Eric”.

Meet Eric the Blue Monster

In his desperate search for Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe), when he isn’t busy drinking and convincing himself that Edgar just ran away for a little while, Vincent has an idea. Edgar had been attempting to show his father a new puppet design. The boy idolizes his father and wants to be part of his world.

So, Vincent tried to remember everything Edgar told him about the blue monster puppet design before he disappeared. He already knows that the puppet’s name is Eric, so Vincent convinces himself that if he just builds Eric and gets the puppet on TV, Edgar will come back home.

While working on the blue monster lifesize puppet, Eric becomes a real-life creature always looming around the background talking to Vincent. Basically, the puppet becomes Vincent’s own bad conscience and constantly berates him.

Think Fight Club, only we know all along that the big blue monster isn’t real, but rather an extension of who Vincent is. I know the big furry puppet might put some people off, but maybe thinking of it in a Fight Club sense could help?!

Also, we learn that Vincent should be on medication, but this would ruin his creativity. Finally, we meet Vincent’s parents. Seeing them tells us a lot about why he has become the adult mess that we see.

The other story of Eric

While all of this is happening, we also meet Detective Ledroit of the NYPD Missing Persons Department. He is a talented police detective who cannot give up on a case and does not accept corrupt colleagues. When we meet him, he takes on the case of Edgar while also working on older cases.

The fact that Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III from Ozark) is one of the very few black NYPD detectives and a closeted gay man (at the height of the AIDS epidemic) does not make it any easier.

We follow Ledroit as he tries to find clues to both the disappearance of Edgar and still looking for a 14-year-old boy who disappeared nearly a year earlier. This boy was black and the case hasn’t gotten as much attention. However, Ledroit believes the skin color of the boy isn’t the only issue.

Having previously worked vice, Ledroit spends a lot of time still going to a place called The Lux. A club where Vincent also frequently goes to drink and party. Unfortunately, the place is riddled with drugs and has been known for trafficking as well.

Including underage people, which is why Ledroit keeps going back.

Watch ERIC on Netflix now!

Abi Morgan is the creator of ERIC which is described as an emotional thriller, which it is, but it is also so much more. The story is about crime and the actual struggles in New York City in the 19080s. Not least the greed-fueled corruption issues right alongside the challenges of homeless people.

While Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, Shame) is the creator and writer, Lucy Forbes is the director of all six episodes of the miniseries. She previously directed episodes of The End of the F***ing World and In My Skin. I loved the entire vibe of this Netflix miniseries so much and the casting was perfect.

Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Vincent as the perfectly unlikable and broken man he is. Yet his logic makes sense when you get to know him. Also, McKinley Belcher III as Detective Ledroit is a revelation. You may recognize him from Ozark and with this it’s obvious he should get a lot more screen time.

ERIC is on Netflix from May 30, 2024.

Details

Creator/Writer: Abi Morgan
Director: Lucy Forbes
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Ivan Morris Howe, Bamar Kane, Dan Fogler, José Pimentão, Jeff Hephner, Clarke Peters, Erika Soto, David Denham, Adepero Oduye