Benedict Cumberbatch is to lead six-part Netflix thriller, Eric, from writer Abi Morgan, alongside Gaby Hoffmann and McKinley Belcher III.

Set in 1980s New York, Eric is a new emotional thriller from Abi Morgan following the desperate search of a father when his nine year old son disappears one morning on the way to school. Vincent, one of New York’s leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children’s television show, ‘Good Day Sunshine,’ struggles to cope with the loss of his son, Edgar, becoming increasingly distressed and volatile. Full of self-loathing and guilt around Edgar’s disappearance, he clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet, ERIC, convinced that if he can get ERIC on TV then Edgar will come home. As Vincent’s progressively destructive behaviour alienates his family, his work colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it’s Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes his only ally in the pursuit to bring his son home.

Filming has now started on the series which will film in Hungary and New York and is produced by SISTER (Chernobyl, This Is Going To Hurt, Landscapers) and co-produced by Little Chick (The Split).

Creator, Writer & Executive Producer Abi Morgan said: “Eric is a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980’s New York, and the good bad and ugly world of Vincent, a genius puppeteer on one of America’s leading kids TV shows. The chance to work with Benedict and the creative team at Sister and Netflix, is irresistible. With Lucy Forbes at the directorial helm, I feel fortunate to be working at a time of such great creativity in our industry. Fingers crossed Eric will be a welcome addition.”

Executive Producers Jane Featherstone and Lucy Dyke said: “When Abi first pitched ERIC to us it gave us goosebumps. It is an extraordinary piece of writing, inspired by Abi’s experience of New York in the mid 1980s, a city rotten to its core but on the cusp of change. She writes both a tense thriller and an intimate portrait of a delusional father searching for his child, shadowed by a monster named Eric. We are thrilled that ERIC will be led by the multi-award-winning Benedict Cumberbatch and directed by the brilliant Lucy Forbes. Eric is set to be an incredibly unique and special limited series and we are overjoyed to be collaborating once more with our long-time creative partner Abi on it.”

The Executive Producers are Abi Morgan, Jane Featherstone (Chernobyl, This Is Going To Hurt), Lucy Dyke (The Split, Black Mirror), BAFTA-winner Lucy Forbes (This is Going To Hurt, In My Skin, End of The F***ing World) and Benedict Cumberbatch. Lucy Forbes is the director with Holly Pullinger (This Is Going To Hurt, Don’t Forget The Driver) producer.

Picture credit: Gavin Bond