It has been nearly 15 years since Benedict Cumberbatch first played Sherlock Holmes on the hit BBC series, and the Emmy-winning actor is getting back into the crime investigating groove in Eric. Vincent Anderson (Cumberbatch) isn't a detective but the creator of the children’s TV series Good Day Sunshine. However, when his 9-year-old son Edgar (Ivan Howe) disappears on his short walk to school, Vincent takes an unusual approach to finding his child.
Abi Morgan's emotional thriller is set in mid-80s New York against a myriad of social-economic issues, from streets stacked high with trash to police corruption.
Eric opens with Vincent at a press conference, pleading for his son Edgar to come home as it has been 48 hours since he went missing. The action flashes back to the day before he disappeared, giving insight into Vincent's workplace and the unhappy Anderson home.
Good Day Sunshine
Edgar hangs out backstage at the Good Day Sunshine studio while his father tapes an episode. The mood is buoyant until the post-show meeting reveals how combative Vincent is with the rest of the cast. Lennie (Dan Fogler) says they must inject something fresh into the series as viewing figures are down. Vincent rejects adding a "cool" puppet to the line-up. It's the first of many rants in which he has zero time for anyone else's perspective.
On the subway ride home, Edgar tries to show his father sketches of a puppet called Eric he has created, but Vincent is preoccupied. At home, the tension between Vincent and his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann) is palpable, growing more hostile over dinner. Vincent brings up Eric and tells his son to pitch his puppet to him. He is overly critical when Edgar stammers at a couple of points.
The now-drunk Vincent is competitive with his son and cruel to his wife. Later, Edgar tries to block out the sound of his parents having a screaming match with his music.
The following day, Edgar mostly gives his father the silent treatment over breakfast. Edgar only engages when Vincent tries out a voice for what Eric should sound like, giving him some notes.
Cassie asks Vincent to walk Edgar to school, but Vincent points out it's only a couple of blocks away, so Edgar can make his way solo. Edgar slips out of the apartment while his parents argue on the stairs and he says goodbye to the building super, George (Clarke Peters). A bearded man in a truck watches as Edgar leaves.
Missing Edgar
When Vincent arrives at work, he tries to cover up a cut on his forehead and avoids answering how it happened. This taping is important as those who control the funds are in attendance.
Of course, Vincent can't help but go off script to complain about the state of New York and the men in charge. Vincent also ignores multiple urgent messages from Cassie.
By the time he gets home, the police are at his apartment, and a fraught Cassie informs him that Edgar didn't make it to school. Detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III) heads the investigation and establishes some basic facts, including that Vincent isn't on good terms with his property tycoon father.
The Lux Nightclub
After Ledroit establishes he wants CCTV footage from the area, he puts on a wire and heads to the Lux nightclub, which is on Edgar's route to school. Ledroit shows his police badge, so this is far from an undercover sting. Ledroit rejects the free beer from owner Gator (Wade Allain-Marcus), as he is on duty. Gator refers to Ledroit as Mikey, suggesting they are on familiar terms.
Ledroit is in the bathroom when two men throw a velour-tracksuit-clad guy to the floor. They snatch his drugs and threaten him ("Do you want to end up like 8?") before hurling homophobic abuse by referencing the AIDS epidemic. When one of them does a line, Ledroit goes to arrest the offending person, and they reveal themselves as vice cops: Nokes (Ryan Hunter) and Kennedy (Bobby Schofield).
Back at the station, Ledroit adds the tape from that evening to a box that shows he has been surveilling the nightclub for weeks.
At home, he tenderly greets his sick boyfriend, William (Mark Gillis), who is in bed. The next day, his boss, Captain Cripp (David Denman), tries to set Ledorit up with secretary Tina (Erika Soto), and it is unsurprisingly awkward.
Cripp tells him to stop going to The Lux as Gator has served his time. Previously, Gator ran a nightclub called The Sierra, and they could only get him on a drug charge. Ledroit thinks kids were used as hustlers, which could happen again. Ledroit was transferred out of vice, and now he is facing off against two vice cops.
24 hours missing
Edgar has been missing for a whole day, and instead of looking for their son together, Vincent heads out alone and walks the streets drinking vodka. Ledroit calls the Andersons to the station to identify a bloody Good Day Sunshine t-shirt that a sanitation worker found. Cassie says it's Edgar’s and fears the worst.
Back home, Vincent takes Edgar's sketches of Eric and starts to draw a version of this walk-around puppet himself. Vincent continues to drink copious amounts of vodka while doing so. Cassie calls to say she is staying at her friend's place, but we see her kissing Sebastian (José Pimentão), the guy watching Edgar leave the previous morning.
Kennedy is also getting drunk and tells the bartender that Nokes is annoyed that Kennedy talks too much. A car hits Kennedy when he crosses the street, driving off and leaving him bleeding in the street. It doesn't look too good for the unresponsive Kennedy.
The following morning, Vincent wakes up in Edgar's bed and is not alone. "Let's go find your f***ing kid," says Eric, the seven-foot monster. Is it just Vincent who can see Eric? They must act fast as the final shot reveals Edgar's discarded jacket on a dirty floor. Is he still alive?
All episodes of Eric are now available to stream on Netflix.
