Eric Season 1: Release date, cast, plot, and everything we know so far

Benedict Cumberbatch’s new gripping emotional thriller Eric Season 1 is set to bring back the 1980s New York scene to Netflix on Thursday, May 30.

It’s set in the backdrop of the 1980s AIDS epidemic and corruption in Manhattan. Eric follows the grief-stricken puppeteer and father played by Cumberbatch, who struck an unlikely friendship with the monster living under his missing son’s bed.

The show is created by BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan, whose credits include The Iron Lady, The Split, and The Hour. It’s directed by Lucy Forbes and produced by SISTER, which produced Chernobyl and This Is Going To Hurt.

Read on to learn more about Eric Season 1 ahead of the show’s release.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers of Eric Season 1. Reader discretion is advised.

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Eric Season 1 will be released on May 30

As mentioned above, Eric will be released on Thursday, May 30, 2024. It comes three years after Netflix had originally announced about it, along with other titles like One Day and Supacell in November 2021.

The show will be exclusively available on Netflix worldwide. It’s a six-part limited series that's seemingly set to launch on the streaming app all at once, which means Eric Season 1 will be available in its entirety at the end of May.

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Benedict Cumberbatch and others star in Eric Season 1

Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, best known for playing Doctor Strange in the Marvel franchise, is set to play the lead role in the upcoming Netflix thriller series. His movie credits include Star Trek: Into the Darkness, The Imitation Game and Sherlock.

In Eric, Cumberbatch will play one of NY’s leading puppeteers and creator of a famous children's TV show searching for his missing son. He’s described as “highly intelligent” and “charismatic yet narcissistic.”

Benedict Cumberbatch plays "Eric" (Image via Monica Schipper/Getty Images))

Joining Cumberbatch are Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s Dan Fogler and Wild’s Gaby Hoffman, among others. Below is the list of known cast members and characters fans can expect to see in Eric.

• Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent Anderson
• McKinley Belcher III as Detective Michael Ledroit
• Gaby Hoffman as Cassie Anderson
• Dan Fowler as Lennie Wilson
• Ivan Morris Howe as Edgar Anderson
• Bamar Kane as Yuusuf Egbe
• Clarke Peters as George Lovett
• Phoebe Nicholls as Anne Anderson
• David Denman as Mateo Cripp
• Adepero Oduye as Cecile Rochelle
• Roberta Colindrez as Ronnie
• Alexis Molnar as Raya

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Eric Season 1 plot explored

Eric Season 1’ story is set in 1980s New York and revolves around a famous puppet maker and puppeteer Vincent Anderson. Away from his popular children’s TV show, Vincent becomes involved in a desperate and harrowing search for his missing son.

As per Netflix, the official synopsis reads:

“A desperate father, alongside a tenacious cop, battles his own demons on the streets of 1980s New York as he searches for his missing nine-year-old son.”

With the Eric Season 1 trailer out on May 2, it confirmed the basic plotline of the upcoming series—a father slash puppeteer Vincent in search of his missing son, Edgar.

The trailer has also given some sneak peeks at the series’ plot, including Vincent’s increasing mental instability and substance abuse as his desperation for his son’s return grows as the show progresses.

Also teased in the trailer, Cumberbatch’s character later goes insane after meeting a seven-foot-tall puppet/monster whom he believes is key to reuniting him with his missing son.

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What else to expect in Eric Season 1?

Aside from the show’s basic plotline, fans can also expect the show to explore real-world issues. As the show is set in New York during the 1980, the series will also cover controversies experienced at the time, like corruption and the AIDS epidemic.

Talking about the show in a statement following the trailer release, Morgan said:

“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...”

The series was shot in New York and Budapest.