One of the most anticipated releases arriving on Netflix this month is Eric, the six-part thriller set in 1980s New York and starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Now, we've got our first trailer for the series, which comes from The Split creator Abi Morgan and focuses on a desperate father's search for his missing nine-year-old son.

In the trailer we meet Cumberbatch's Vincent, a puppeteer and the creator of a popular children's television show, who goes on a quest to get Eric, a puppet monster drawn by his son Edgar, on to TV, hoping it will convince him to come home.

However, as his mind begins to unravel, Eric starts to become a little too real. You can watch the full trailer right here now:

Writer and creator Morgan said in a statement: "When I pitched the idea of a New York puppeteer on a quest to find his missing son, with a 7ft blue monster in tow, it's to Netflix's eternal credit that they jumped on board.

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"Eric is a deep dive into the 1980s Big Apple, grappling with rising crime rates, internal corruption, endemic racism, a forgotten underclass and the AIDS epidemic, exposing the divisions rife between parents searching for their child, a detective battling with a system that is broken, and a lost boy who may never come home, and asks where the real monsters lie. With puppets... lots of puppets."

Speaking about the series at a Next on Netflix UK event earlier this year, Cumberbatch teased that the series is "pretty unusual" and that he "hadn't read anything like it".

He continued: "It is rooted in a lot of real world issues. And I think looking at parenthood, looking at marriage, looking at mental health, looking at the AIDS pandemic then, but also the ongoing crises of homophobia, racism in institutions.

"There's a lot going on and yet it does speak to our world. It's not cramming stuff in that we're not sadly all too familiar with.

"And it just takes you on one of the most unusual journeys through my character's involvement that I've ever read. So I was hooked."

The series also stars Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler and Clarke Peters and is set to arrive on Netflix on 30th May 2024.

Eric is coming to Netflix on Thursday 30th May 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

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