Benedict Cumberbatch enlists a puppet to save his son in first Eric trailer

Imaginary friends are coming in hot as one of the first big movie trends of 2024. We’ve already had Imaginary and are soon to see If, out later this month from the imagination of John Krasinski. Now, we can add Eric, an imaginary blue monster puppet, to the pack.

Eric was dreamed up and drawn by a nine year old boy named Edgar (Ivan Howe), who goes missing on his way to school one morning. His disappearance haunts his father (Benedict Cumberbatch), a beloved puppeteer and creator of the children’s television show, Good Day Sunshine. Think a Bob Ross, Mr. Rogers type—that is, until he suffers what appears to be a bit of a break from reality, and becomes obsessed with the idea that Eric is the only one who can help him bring Edgar home.

While the subject matter is serious, there are some pretty funny things going on in this trailer. The clip starts with a giant shot of an American flag, as if to alert audiences that, ‘Hey! Benedict Cumberbatch is American in this one!’ (The show is set in 1980s New York.) Later on, you realize that the standard minor-key trailer score you’ve been listening to is actually the prelude to a moody remix of ABBA’s “SOS,” a hilarious spin on the whole dark indie cover trailer trend of late. Further in, the series’ tagline flashes: “The real monsters aren’t under the bed.” While it doesn’t seem like these choices are intentionally meant to be hilarious, they really, really are. They do render the tone of this thriller a bit muddled, but then again, the trailer ends with a blue monster puppet talking out loud to Benedict Cumberbatch, so maybe we’re the ones not using enough of our imagination.

The series was created by Abi Morgan, who previously penned Shame (2011), The Iron Lady (2011), and Suffragette (2015). It also stars Gaby Hoffmann, McKinley Belcher III, Dan Fogler, and Clarke Peters. Eric arrives on Netflix May 30.