New York in the 1980s: a city of bad clothes, bad haircuts, and bad vibes. With steam hissing out of vents, buildings caked in a century of brown scum, and the subway ridden by the despairing and deranged, it is the perfect backdrop to Eric, a new Netflix drama about a child lost amid the city’s down-and-outs.
Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a puppeteer and the lead creative on a successful Sesame Street-style children’s TV show, Good Day Sunshine. When his nine-year-old son Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe) disappears on his way to school, Vincent’s entire world unravels. His precarious relationship with his wife, Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann), disintegrates, a fragile truce with his wealthy parents descends into all-out war, and Vincent slips back into substance abuse. Accompanying Vincent on this journey into psychic meltdown is Eric, a large, foul-mouthed and, crucially, imaginary puppet that Vincent is building, based on Edgar’s specs. “The real monsters ain’t under the bed,” Eric tells Vincent, as he appears for the first time in his periphery. “Let’s go find your f***ing kid.”
