The Split creator reveals "haunting" inspiration behind new Netflix series Eric
"In choosing to go back to that time, I wanted to go back to that very vivid period in history."
Penned by The Split's Abi Morgan, fans of the BBC legal drama will know that her new series, Eric, is sure to pack plenty of twists and drama.
The new Netflix show has been created and written by Morgan, with Benedict Cumberbatch leading the cast as Vincent, a puppeteer who is rocked by the disappearance of his young son Edgar and uses his drawings to try and bring him home.
The '80s-set series unfolds in New York, following the missing case of Edgar and another teenager, Marlon Rochelle, whose case isn't getting quite as much attention in the media. But is the new show based on real events?
Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Morgan explained: "Well, I mean, weirdly actually, I think growing up in the UK in the '80s, I remember being haunted by those stories of children who had gone missing, and then when I went to New York, I looked after a young boy in New York in the mid-'80s.
"While I was out there, I saw the milk carton kids and the missing persons. So that has always been very haunting."
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Speaking about the inspiration behind the cases included in Eric, Morgan continued: "I don’t think it was ever based on one specific case, but I think in choosing to go back to that time, I wanted to go back to that very vivid period in history where, obviously, there were those cases.
"But in many ways, it was more a kind of shout-out to those cities where kids can go missing. At the heart of the show is Vincent’s belief that 'I want to live in a world where a child goes out into the world and can come home safe'.
"I guess that’s the kind of callout at the centre of the show, is that we all want to live in that world - but unfortunately, there are monsters in the most surprising places.
"I guess that’s what’s at the heart of Eric, this quest for a father to find his son, but also a man who's then having to explore the monsters in himself and the city he’s grown up in."
Read more:
- Benedict Cumberbatch says Eric role 'fills him with fear'
- Benedict Cumberbatch in first trailer for Eric, from The Split creator
The playwright and screenwriter has also penned films such as The Iron Lady and The Invisible Woman, and is soon set to work on an upcoming two-part special of The Split, as well as executive producing The Split spin-off The Split Up.
As for Eric, the new series also stars Gaby Hoffmann as Edgar's mother Cassie and McKinley Belcher III as Detective Michael Ledroit, who is investigating both cases of Edgar and Marlon - but is also battling his own personal issues.
Eric centres on Edgar's disappearance as he goes missing on his way to school one day, but also uncovers plenty else in its themes, including homelessness, poverty, racism and more.
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The official series synopsis reads: "Vincent, one of New York’s leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children’s television show Good Day Sunshine, struggles to cope with the loss of his son, Edgar, becoming increasingly distressed and volatile.
"Full of self-loathing and guilt around Edgar’s disappearance, he clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet, Eric, convinced that if he can get Eric on TV then Edgar will come home.
"As Vincent’s progressively destructive behaviour alienates his family, his work colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it’s Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes his only ally in the pursuit to bring his son home."
Eric is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 30th May. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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