If you’re looking for something offbeat on the 2024 TV schedule, I cannot recommend creator/writer Abi Morgan’s Eric highly enough. At times heartbreaking drama, while at others a darkly comic head trip, the story of children’s show puppeteer Vincent and the disappearance of his young son navigates that mix of tones rather well.
Part of that is the fact that the series has some expert-looking puppeteering, and during Netflix’s recent press day for Eric, Cumberbatch opened up about the experience working with those professionals. Stemming from a question about whether or not his work with physical mo-cap performances in The Hobbit trilogy helped prepare for this new experience, Mr. Cumberbatch’s answer quickly dispelled that notion.
However, as Benedict Cumberbatch spoke with CinemaBlend, he revealed how the preparation and work with actual puppeteers was something that made days on set rather magical:
We all kind of fell a bit in love with it, and became a bit obsessed. … It is a joyous thing to be around Eric, as encapsulated by [Lead Puppeteer] Olly [Taylor], who was actually in the suit, was a real presence. All of us were kids when he was on set. I had a wonderful repartee with him, improvising lines. He was as quick an actor as he was a puppeteer. Very very smart, brilliant performer, brilliant actor, and also brilliant puppeteer. It was a real entity for me to play off of, and I enjoyed that enormously.
Having an enormous “walk around,” a term viewers will soon learn from watching the behind-the-scenes world of Eric’s show within a show Good Day Sunshine, certainly gives the limited series an extra boost. Having actors act off of a physical presence is pretty exciting for an audience, as you can usually feel that sort of energy.
It’s also pretty amazing that, with no spoilers or context added, we get a scene of Benedict Cumberbatch dancing at an ‘80s disco in New York, and the titular puppet is dancing with him. For a series that blurs the lines of reality like this does, that’s just icing on the cake... or rather, more fur on the puppet. Further highlighting that commitment, and the magic that came with it, Cumberbatch offered these details to CinemaBlend:
It sort of becomes real, at the end of your arm, if that makes any sense. It’s just slightly different, and you’re looking at your work. You’re seeing it on a screen. You’re aware of yourself, and what it’s creating. It’s a slightly different sensation. So no, it didn’t help at all. It felt like a new skill, and a really difficult one to master. So we did as best as we could. I have to say, my team on that show were amazing. Both the real puppeteers, but also the actors playing the gang in Good Day Sunshine. They’re extraordinary, and they just threw themselves into it.
Puppetry is very much a 'go hard or don’t go at all' profession, and as Abi Morgan’s Eric proves once more, that medium isn’t just for children. In a blend of heartbreak, madness and curiosity, the mystery at the heart of this compelling project unfolds with perfect timing.
In its own strange way, it proves a point that most children’s television shows like to teach us early on: sometimes, when things are really tough, we need a friend who understands both the person and the monster in us all. Netflix’s Eric is currently streaming for Netflix subscription holders curious to take the eight-episode journey. Of course, don’t forget to take a look at the full 2024 Netflix movie and TV release dates.
