Eric

Eric is an ambitious psychological thriller in which Cumberbatch is played by an inanimate puppet; yet its six disjointed episodes attempt to cover issues of police corruption, racial inequality, homelessness and mental health in just as shallow a manner as possible.

Characters in Good Day Sunshine revolve around four main settings, such as the Good Day Sunshine studio and police precinct; McKinley Belcher III plays Detective Mike Ledroit – perhaps its most compelling protagonist.

Eric | The premise

Eric (Ivan Morris Howe), Netflix’s six-episode thriller that takes an ambitious approach. Edgar goes missing during his morning walk to school, setting into motion a chain reaction of events that spiral out of control.

The series features some brilliant acting from Cumberbatch, who shines as an expert impersonator of self-righteous figures such as Bastards. However, its ambitions remain unfulfilled: It takes place in 1980s New York pre-gentrification with corrupt police force and corrupt politicians leading its downward spiral into decline.

Searching for Edgar is tracked through two plotlines: Detective Ledroit’s official investigation led by McKinley Belcher III of the NYPD and Vincent’s misguided crusade led by Vincent himself. Vincent often uses surrealist vignettes, leading to toneary fluctuations that resemble more closely an episode of Ozark or Mercy Street than an original drama series such as this. Furthermore, racism in this show feels superficial while secondary characters act more as mirrors for its abusive father-son themes than supporting characters that add complexity.

Eric | The characters

Eric boasts a fantastic cast, but its plot tries too hard to cover too many ideas and characters at once – something many shows like Eric struggle with; this shows fails on several fronts by taking on corrupt city officials, waste management bosses, cops, nightclub patrons as well as rightly outraged Black mothers, unhoused artists and saintly gay men with AIDS as potential antagonists.

Cumberbatch is the cornerstone of this film and excels as Vincent Anderson, creator of a Sesame Street-esque kids show who finds his world crumbling after his son goes missing. But more time must also be dedicated to Cassie (Gabi Hoffmann) whose performance expertly examines the line between love and guilt.

McKinley Belcher III shines in his role as lead detective, while Morgan’s depiction of New York City as an alluring, decadent metropolis is striking and moving. Unfortunately, however, when trying to tackle bigger issues like homelessness, racism, and AIDS it becomes less successful.

Eric | The writing

Eric is an intense story of missing person mystery, yet its scope exceeds even that. Eric explores many sensitive subjects ranging from corrupt police and politicians, NYC’s legendary garbage problems, the AIDS crisis, homelessness, mental health and pedophilia with intelligence and depth of analysis while offering an immersive aesthetic which offers a feeling of lived-in authenticity.

Problematically, however, the series struggles to find an apt rhythm between these various strands of narrative – one episode may focus on Vincent while another shifts focus to an investigation by McKinley Belcher III as Morgan attempts to inject comic relief and lighthearted moments into her protagonist’s character development. Morgan does make an attempt at comedy which further dilutes Morgan’s efforts at adding balance – though in its final episodes everything comes to a satisfying resolution; regardless of its flaws it remains captivating and thought-provoking drama!

Eric | The direction

Lucy Forbes brings New York City in the mid 1980s alive through six episodes of Eric, expertly directed by Lucy Forbes who keeps the narrative moving along and successfully establishes each character’s culpability or innocence. However, the makers of this limited series also include various elements in their narrative such as corrupt police and politicians, garbage issues in NYC, AIDS-related infections and urban homelessness as well as child abuse and domestic violence in their narrative.

While Vincent may seem like an engaging topic to explore, the show succumbs to too much. Over six episodes, it veers into a CSI-like procedural format while only superficially covering issues of race and sexuality. Cumberbatch shines yet again but is frequently overshadowed by a furry creature from Monsters Inc who diverts attention away from Vincent’s descent into madness. Additionally, this show perpetuates the notion that creativity equals mental illness while lazily explaining away Vincent’s behavior by allusion to childhood trauma as justification for most of Vincent’s behavior.

Eric | The performances

Eric is captivating for its story alone, but its stand-out performances truly elevate this prestige limited series. Benedict Cumberbatch as both puppeteer on the brink of madness and hallucinatory giant blue monster is captivating to watch; Gaby Hoffman and McKinley Belcher III ensure their characters’ emotional arcs remain intact throughout.

The show’s recreation of an decrepit 1980s New York tainted by corruption and filth adds another layer of intrigue; unfortunately, however, its overcrowded narrative sometimes feels disjointed and disorienting.

Clarke Peters as Vincent’s brother-in-law Michael could have added much-needed depth to the narrative, yet is barely featured in it. Furthermore, its focus on issues like racism, sexism, homelessness and police corruption can become exhausting at times.