# Eric (2024 TV series)
*Eric* is a 2024 British-American limited drama series on Netflix, created and written by Abi Morgan, in which a puppeteer on a children's television show becomes convinced that a giant blue monster puppet he builds can bring his missing nine-year-old son home. [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/benedict-cumberbatch) stars as the father, Vincent Anderson, alongside [Gaby Hoffmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaby-hoffmann) and [McKinley Belcher III](https://www.edgepedia.org/mckinley-belcher-iii), and the story unfolds in 1980s New York.[1](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Six-episode limited series; episodes run roughly 52 to 55 minutes[1](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301) |
| Release | All six episodes released on Netflix on May 30, 2024[2](https://tvtango.com/series/eric_2024) |
| Creators and director | Created and written by Abi Morgan; directed by Lucy Forbes; executive producers Lucy Dyke and Jane Featherstone[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/eric) |
| Lead cast | Benedict Cumberbatch (Vincent/Eric), Gaby Hoffmann (Cassie), McKinley Belcher III (Detective Michael Ledroit), Dan Fogler (Lennie), Ivan Morris Howe (Edgar)[1](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/fullcredits/cast/) |
| Setting | Manhattan, New York, in the early 1980s[2](https://tvtango.com/series/eric_2024) |
| Critical scores | 71% Tomatometer (76 reviews) and 57% Popcornmeter; Metascore 61 from 32 critics; IMDb 6.9/10 from about 43,000 ratings[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/eric) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/eric/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/ratings) |
| Awards | Won one BAFTA Award, reported by Sky as the award for Costume Design[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/eric) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/ratings) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Vincent Anderson is the creator and puppeteer of *Good Day Sunshine*, a *Sesame Street*-style children's program whose motto is "be good, be kind, be brave, be different." Under network pressure to introduce new characters, he is distracted from his son Edgar, who offers him the idea for a puppet named Eric, a seven-foot-tall friendly blue monster, before Vincent can hear him out. Edgar disappears on his way to school after Vincent, mid-argument with his wife Cassie, lets the boy walk alone.[1](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301) • [8](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/)
Full of guilt, Vincent clings to Edgar's drawings of the blue monster and becomes convinced that if he can get Eric on television, Edgar will come home.[2](https://tvtango.com/series/eric_2024) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/eric) As he constructs the Eric puppet for the show, he begins to hallucinate a gruff, foulmouthed version of the monster who pushes him to pull himself together; Vincent is an alcoholic with a history of mental illness.[9](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/eric-netflix-series-puppet) • [8](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/)
The series' other protagonist is Detective Michael Ledroit, a closeted gay Black NYPD officer assigned to Edgar's case who is also caring for a partner dying of AIDS. Ledroit separately pursues the case of Marlon, a 14-year-old Black boy whose disappearance has drawn no press attention, and comes to believe the two cases are connected.[8](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/)
### Story and themes
The show weaves a missing-child mystery with a portrait of early-1980s New York at what reviewers describe as an inflection point, when the AIDS epidemic and gentrification were taking shape. Its ensemble includes corrupt city officials, dirty cops, nightclub figures, and a community of unhoused people living in the subway tunnels; Vincent's father, Robert ([John Doman](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-doman)), is a real-estate magnate whose developments displace them.[10](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/05/eric-netflix-review/678542/) • [8](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/) Reviewers noted that the series repeatedly frames how the city and its police prioritize a missing white child while ignoring a missing Black one.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/05/30/eric-benedict-cumberbatch-review-netflix/)
In the finale, Vincent is reunited with Edgar and begins to confront his own demons. Ledroit's investigation, however, uncovers that Marlon Rochelle, a young Black gay hustler, was murdered by NYPD detectives to cover up pedophilic abuse by a city hall figure, a corruption reaching the top of city government. Abi Morgan called Edgar's disappearance a "Trojan horse" for this second story, contrasting a privileged child who comes home with one who never does.[12](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/eric-netflix-finale-interview)
## Production
Netflix teamed Morgan, an Emmy-winning playwright and screenwriter whose credits include *The Hour*, *The Iron Lady*, and *[The Split](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-split-tv-series)*, with the production company [Sister](https://www.edgepedia.org/sister-production-company) for the series.[13](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/eric-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-coming-to-netflix-in-may-2024/) • [2](https://tvtango.com/series/eric_2024) The main cast beyond Cumberbatch was confirmed in February 2023.[13](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/eric-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-coming-to-netflix-in-may-2024/) For the puppet itself, illustrator Poppy Kay translated director Lucy Forbes's vision into a design bible for the puppet builders.[9](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/eric-netflix-series-puppet)
One published summary from Sky describes *Eric* as an eight-episode series; the Netflix listing, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, IMDb, and press coverage all describe six episodes.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/eric) • [1](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed to favorable. On Rotten Tomatoes the limited series holds 71% on the Tomatometer from 76 reviews, with a critics' consensus calling it "startlingly disturbing despite its outwardly fuzzy appearance" and "a perverse genre-bender that may not fully articulate all of its ideas." The audience Popcornmeter stands at 57% from more than 500 ratings.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/eric) Metacritic gives it a Metascore of 61, "generally favorable," based on 32 critic reviews, against a user score of 5.9 from 74 ratings.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/eric/) IMDb users have rated it 6.9 out of 10, with per-episode ratings between 7.1 and 7.4.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/ratings)
Positive reviews singled out the performances and period detail. Variety called the series "outstanding" while noting that the hallucinated Eric sometimes distracts from the drama; Radio Times praised its willingness to explore difficult themes.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/eric/) Critical appraisals differed sharply. Judy Berman, Time's TV critic, called it "unfocused, inconsistently written, and wonderfully acted," admiring its ambition while faulting its tonal dissonance.[8](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/) [The Atlantic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-atlantic)'s Sophie Gilbert, a staff writer who won the 2024 National Magazine Award for Reviews and [Criticism](https://www.edgepedia.org/criticism), found the series dour and imitative despite what she judged superb direction by Lucy Forbes, arguing that its many social themes crowded out the characters.[10](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/05/eric-netflix-review/678542/) The Washington Post's review called it an "absorbing but wildly uneven thriller" whose many themes forced the six episodes into shortcuts, while crediting Gaby Hoffmann, Dan Fogler, and McKinley Belcher III with standing out against a life-size puppet.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/05/30/eric-benedict-cumberbatch-review-netflix/)
The series later won a BAFTA Award for Costume Design, and IMDb records three wins and eight nominations in total.[7](https://www.sky.com/watch/eric) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/ratings)
## References
1. [Eric, Netflix official page](https://www.netflix.com/title/81284301)
2. [Eric – Series, TV Tango](https://tvtango.com/series/eric_2024)
3. [Eric, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/eric)
4. [Eric (TV Mini Series 2024) full cast, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/fullcredits/cast/)
5. [Eric Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/eric/)
6. [Eric (TV Mini Series 2024) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16283824/ratings)
7. [Eric | Drama Series | Watch on Netflix via Sky](https://www.sky.com/watch/eric)
8. [What Netflix's Strange Benedict Cumberbatch Crime Drama Eric Is Really Trying to Say, Time, by TV critic Judy Berman](https://time.com/6983959/eric-review-netflix/)
9. [Who Is Eric in Benedict Cumberbatch's New Netflix Series? Inside the Puppet Making, Netflix Tudum](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/eric-netflix-series-puppet)
10. [Eric Shows Everything That's Wrong With Mid TV, The Atlantic, by staff writer Sophie Gilbert](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/05/eric-netflix-review/678542/)
11. [Eric saddles its puppet with too many strings, The Washington Post, by Lili Loofbourow](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/05/30/eric-benedict-cumberbatch-review-netflix/)
12. [Eric writer Abi Morgan breaks down its big, twisty ending, British GQ, by Jack King](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/eric-netflix-finale-interview)
13. [Eric Starring Benedict Cumberbatch Coming to Netflix in May 2024, What's on Netflix, by Kasey Moore](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/eric-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-coming-to-netflix-in-may-2024/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Psychological and domestic thrillers*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license