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Published 10:25 1 Jun 2024 BST
Updated 17:58 1 Jun 2024 BST

Eric, a very tense new mystery thriller series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, has just been added to Netflix.
In the show, the two-time Oscar nominee plays Vincent – an irascible puppeteer living in 1980’s New York with his wife Cassie (an excellent Gaby Hoffman) and young son Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe).
One day, in the wake of a fight between Cassie and Vincent, Edgar goes missing en route to school.
A detective with his own personal problems named Michael (played by an also great McKinley Belcher III) is assigned to the case and begins a hunt to find the child.
Amid this, an increasingly volatile Vincent begins to believe Edgar’s own puppet named Eric could be the key to finding him.
We here at JOE have seen two of Eric’s six episodes and we’re happy to report that the show – created by Abi Morgan (The Hour, River, The Split) – makes for a highly compelling watch.
This is mainly down to its gripping central mystery, its gritty evocation of ’80s New York and the universally terrific performances.
You can read a sample of some other positive reviews Eric has received right here:
Empire: “Monsters real and imagined are confronted in an ambitious undertaking that successfully balances true-crime realism with child-like awe and wonder. More of this please, Netflix.”
GQ: “Eric, like Baby Reindeer before it, is really quite brilliant, actually. And it serves as a corking reminder for just how brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch is.”
San Jose Mercury News: “The period details couldn’t be better, and the final episode weaves the many elements together with effortless poignancy.”
The Spool: “Eric is a tough sit. Whether that sit is worth the difficulty is a question I struggled with before tentatively arriving at yes.”
All six episodes of Eric are streaming on Netflix right now.
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