Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in Netflix thriller “Eric”

Eric is a six-part thriller just announced by Netflix written by Abi Morgan and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffmann, and McKinley Belcher III.

Abi Morgan’s new emotional thriller, Eric, is set in 1980s New York and follows a father’s desperate search after his nine-year-old son goes missing on the way to school. Following the disappearance  of his son Edgar, Vincent, a prominent puppeteer in New York and the brains behind the massively successful children’s television show “Good Day Sunshine,” becomes increasingly distraught and irrational.

He blames himself and feels guilty over Edgar’s disappearance, so he clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet named ERIC, hoping that if he can get ERIC on TV, Edgar will return. Eric, a delusion of necessity, becomes Vincent’s lone partner in his drive to bring his kid home as Vincent’s progressively destructive behavior alienates his family, his coworkers, and the detectives trying to aid him.

Production on the show, which will shoot locations in Hungary and New York, has begun.

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.”

The casting is

Vincent Anderson – Benedict Cumberbatch

Cassie Anderson – Gaby Hoffmann

Detective Michael Ledroit – McKinley Belcher III

Lennie Wilson – Dan Fogler

George Lovett – Clarke Peters

Edgar Anderson – Ivan Morris Howe

Anne Anderson – Phoebe Nicholls

Matteo Cripp – David Denman

Yuusuf Egbe – Bamar Kane

Cecile Rochelle – Adepero Odyue

Raya – Alexis Molnar

Ronnie – Roberta Colindrez

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.”

Produced by SISTER (Chernobyl, This Is Going To Hurt, Landscapers) and co-produced by Little Chick (The Split)

Creator & Writer: BAFTA and Emmy-winner Abi Morgan OBE (River, Suffragette, The Split)

Executive Producers: 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.

Director: Lucy Forbes

Producer: Holly Pullinger (This Is Going To Hurt, Don’t Forget The Driver)

Format: Limited series

Episodes: 6x 60 mins

Character Descriptions

Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch)

Vincent, a prominent member of New York’s puppeteering community, is responsible for the massively successful kids’ TV show Good Day Sunshine. Vincent is both professionally explosive and personally negligent to his wife Cassie and small son Edgar despite being very educated, personable, and charismatic.

Cassie Anderson (Gaby Hoffmann)

Cassie, who grew up in affluence on a farm in upstate New York, met her future husband Vincent in art school, where their romance blossomed briefly before the harsh realities of life set in. Cassie is a doting mother to Edgar, but she is tired of Vincent’s womanizing and erratic behavior.

Detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III)

Ledroit had spent the majority of his twenty years in the police force working in VICE, but after seeing how overwhelmed the MISSING PERSONS division was, he felt impelled to help. Ledroit spends a great deal of time and effort concealing his sexuality and his relationship with his long-term partner William, but when his secret becomes a problem at work, he must decide whether to keep his identity safe or to solve a case.

Lennie Wilson (Dan Fogler)

Lennie Wilson, a close friend and coworker of Vincent’s who is also a talented puppeteer and builder, is a master of his craft. Lennie is a dedicated bachelor who has formed a close friendship with Edgar, a regular visitor to the Good Day Sunshine show.

George Lovett (Clarke Peters)

George Lovett, the super of the apartment building where Edgar lives, is a friendly neighbour with minimal belongings. Those he has, he treasures. His children no longer speaking to him, George befriended Edgar, letting him play in his apartment whenever his parents argued.

Edgar Anderson (Ivan Morris Howe)

Artistic yet deeply withdrawn from the world, 9-year-old Edgar is inspired by the puppets on his father’s show Good Day Sunshine, a hit children’s puppet show, wanting to make a puppet of his own.

Anne Anderson (Phoebe Nicholls)

Anne is an elegant yet brittle housewife to real estate mogul Robert Anderson and mother to Vincent, who struggles to connect to her and has carved out a life in direct opposition to everything Anne and Robert aspire to be.

Matteo Cripp (David Denman)

Captain Cripp, Ledroit’s eagle-eyed boss and captain of the station, has a good relationship with Ledroit and cares for him like a mentor. Edgar’s case brings media attention and pressure from above and when Ledroit believes it may be connected to missing boy Marlon Rochelle, a 14 year old from nearly a year ago, Cripp is quick to discourage this, keen for Ledroit to close the case quickly.

Yuusuf Egbe (Bamar Kane)

Yuusuf Egbe lives amongst the mole people underneath New York City, along disused subways. A graffiti artist, Yuusuf leaves his tag all over New York but never expected them to be noticed – especially not by a 9 year old boy.

Cecile Rochelle (Adepero Odyue)

Cecilie is an African American mother whose son Marlon disappeared 11 months ago. Marlon was older than Edgar and even though the police have done very little to help find Marlon, Cecile never lets up. She has resigned herself to the idea that he is dead but still wants him found.

Raya (Alexis Molnar)

Raya is a friend of Yuusuf’s, also living underneath New York City, along disused subways amongst the Mole People. Streetwise and addicted to crack cocaine, Raya knows how to use her smarts to get her next fix, but sometimes it’s at great risk to her and those around her.

Ronnie (Roberta Colindrez)

Ronnie is a legendary puppeteer working on Good Day Sunshine with Vincent and Lennie, her long standing colleagues. Ronnie is immune to Vincent’s charms which gives her a unique position to call him out with her quick, sarcastic wit.