ERIC
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffman, Dan Fogler, McKinley Belcher III, Ivan Howe, Bamar Kane, Clarke Peters, and David Denman
Creator: Abi Morgan
NICK
Eric touches on many themes: racism, sexuality, addiction, corruption, fatherhood, the homeless crisis, and more as its story builds. But it's too much. Had it reeled things in, it would have made for a more succinct story instead of the unnecessarily sprawling one we're given. Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic, though. He gives an increasingly unhinged performance that is at its best whenever he’s interacting with the monster Eric. It’s a dynamic I wish we’d gotten more of, yet so much time is spent elsewhere that their moments together feel fleeting. There are things to like, but a more focused character study would have bumped my rating.
QUENTIN
Eric starts out in a way that roped me in immediately, from the 70s New York griminess to Benedict Cumberbatch’s terrific performance. However, a reveal in the fourth episode kinda kills the momentum. It essentially ends the driving mystery of the A-plot while the B-plot (not to mention random C- and D-plots), which is somewhat dependent on the aforementioned mystery, tries to keep going. It’s neutering, leading the final two episodes to fizzle out as it wraps up all the other less interesting storylines. Again, though….Cumberbatch is great, and at only six episodes, there is just enough to power through to the finish.
PAIGE
Eric has strong performances and it strikingly captures the streets of 1980s New York in true form, but it bites off more than it can chew. The series' main mystery frequently gets lost in the sea of ideas presented, leading the plot to be unsure of what it wants to be. The team behind Eric struggles to balance all the side stories they included in the mix, which eventually leads to the point where the narrative starts to wane, causing me to lose interest after the first few episodes. Character development and intrigue are lacking in this mystery drama series.
