Netflix Sets May Premiere for Benedict Cumberbatch Drama 'Eric'

“The real monsters aren’t under the bed,” reads the tagline on the poster for the upcoming Netflix series Eric, hinting that its story, which follows a troubled puppeteer struggling to cope after his young son goes missing, is likely much darker than many of us initially believed.

The six-part drama is set to premiere in May and is reportedly inspired by a true story. (Which parts of it are true is likely anyone's guess.) It stars Benedict Cumberbatch (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar) as Vincent Sullivan, the talented creator of and puppeteer behind the successful children's program, Good Day Sunshine. But when his young son, Edgar, goes missing while on his way to school, Vincent spirals rapidly, becoming increasingly convinced the only way to find Edgar is through his drawings of Eric, a seven-foot tall, blue puppet. As his obsession with Eric grows, Vincent must battle demons both real and imagined as he struggles to find his missing son.

“Eric is a dark and crazy journey into the heart of 1980s New York — and the good, bad, and ugly world of Vincent,” creator and writer Abi Morgan (The Hour) told Netflix's Tudum.