Netflix's latest miniseries Eric made its debut this week and fans have wasted no time binge-watching the drama.
The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent, one of New York's leading puppeteers and creator of a hugely popular children's TV show, Good Day Sunshine, whose life begins to unravel after his nine-year-old son Edgar goes missing on the way to school.
The six-parter follows Vincent as his deteriorating mental health and addiction manifest as a seven-foot-tall blue monster puppet, Eric – a creature based on his son's drawings.
Taking to social media, viewers praised the gripping yet heartrending show. One person penned: "Absolutely brilliant. Just watched #Eric. Acting was amazing, a must-watch, 5 [stars], made me cry," while another added: "I'm watching Eric on Netflix and wow…the first episode is breaking my heart."
A third person asked: "Has anyone seen Eric yet? It's a 10/10/10 across the board!" while another applauded Benedict's performance, writing: "OMG #Eric on Netflix is so so so GOOD! Abi Morgan has really created a fascinating, absorbing world of 1980s New York in this show. Benedict is truly spectacular as always and just keeps on proving yet again what tour de force he is. Wow wow wow I just love it! I'm hooked on new show "Eric" on @netflix."
For those yet to watch this series, which comes from BAFTA and Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan (The Split, The Iron Lady), it follows desperate father Vincent as he searches for his son in 1980s New York.
The synopsis reads: "In Eric, monsters are manifestations of fear. For Vincent, Benedict Cumberbatch’s floundering father, husband, and puppeteer, his demons — nurtured by his childhood neglect and exacerbated by his deteriorating mental health and addiction — manifest as a 7-foot-tall, furry hallucination. His name? Simply, Eric.
"First sketched by his 9-year-old son, Edgar (Ivan Howe), Vincent conjures Eric, both in his mind and later in his workshop, to help bring Edgar home after he goes missing on the way to school."
Writer Abi expanded on the plot whilst speaking at Next on Netflix – an event to showcase upcoming releases. She described the series as an "emotional thriller, telling HELLO! and other press: "It traces [Vincent's] journey as he tries to find out what's happened to his son Edgar, who disappears. It's really about Vincent's journey, not only into the heart of New York and everything that it offers in the mid-eighties, but also into himself.
"It's about his relationship with his wife, Cassie, but it's also his journey to really find where Edgar is. And what's key to that is he finds some drawings of Eric, which is a puppet, that Edgar has created, and he convinces himself if he can get Eric on TV, then maybe his son will come back," she continued, concluding: "So it's about this man who, through this creation, starts to understand more about himself and then goes onto a deeper and darker journey through New York."
Eric is available on Netflix.