In the mystery 'Eric,' desperation and decline manifest into a life-size monster puppet

The most idiosyncratic and striking moment on TV this summer? It could be Benedict Cumberbatch as a father running through the streets of New York in a giant, fuzzy blue monster puppet getup amid a desperate attempt to reconnect with his son.

It may sound like some sweet magical adventure, but that's not the style of British screenwriter Abi Morgan, who created "Eric" for Netflix. She isn't afraid to tackle big subjects and her body of work — including "Shame" (2011), which tackles sex addiction; "Suffragette" (2015), about women's suffrage in the U.K.; and TV dramas "The Hour" and "The Split" — often leaves viewers emotionally strung out in its intense examination of human behavior, internal battles and broken systems. And "Eric" is just as visceral.

Set in 1980s New York City, the initial episode of the limited series finds Cumberbatch's Vincent Anderson, a puppeteer and creator of a "Sesame Street"-esque children's show "Good Day Sunshine," exasperated by work demands and his floundering marriage to Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann). The couple's troubles intensify when their 9-year old son, Edgar (Ivan