Netflix’s Eric is the new six-part psychological thriller series starring Benedict Cumberbatch that had us both on the edge of our seat and in tears.
Following a father’s heartbreaking search for his missing son, the series takes viewers on an intensely emotional journey as Cumberbatch’s character Vincent attempts to grapple with the loss of his son Edgar who disappears on his way to school one day.
Set against the backdrop of 1980s New York City, the series draws attention to the AIDS epidemic of the time while also exploring themes of racism, poverty and homophobia.
But is Eric based on a true story? Here’s everything to know.
Is Eric based on a true story?
Netflix’s Eric tells the story of New York puppeteer Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is also the creator the fictional children’s TV show Good Day Sunshine.
After his nine-year-old son Edgar goes missing, Vincent struggles to come to terms with the loss, finding himself clinging to his son’s drawings of a blue puppet monster called Eric.
Vincent convinces himself that if he’s able to get Eric on screen, he’ll be able to reach Edgar and he’ll return home. But is Eric based on a true story?
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The short answer is no, it’s not.
While some publications have claimed the series was inspired by the case of Etan Patz, a six-year-old who went missing on his way to school in 1979 New York, the show’s creator Abi Morgan has explained that Eric was rather inspired by several missing person cases she came across in the UK and US.
“It wasn’t based on any one story,” Morgan told [USA Today](https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2024/05/31/eric-netflix-ending-explained/73877421007/#:~:text=Is ‘Eric’ based on a,gone deep into that story.”) “I think if I’d wanted to do that, I would have really gone deep into that story.”
In an interview with RadioTimes, Morgan also 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.”
Speaking to Tudum, Morgan also referenced her experience working as a nanny in 1980s New York as source of inspiration, with it being a time when the AIDS epidemic was unfolding and homophobia was prominent.
“When I first arrived, I stayed in this really run-down hostel and it was this strange place filled with international backpackers, low-income families, and drug addicts.”
While Eric might not be directly based on one particular case, the motifs of racism, homophobia and homelessness that it addresses are relevant even today.
Eric is available to watch on Netflix now.
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