The Story of Leonard and Hungry Paul Overview: A Calming Show Featuring the Voice of the Hollywood Star Brings a Great Cure to Modern Life

In a quiet area of the Irish capital, an individual is standing on the pavement, sporting a sleeveless jumper and expressing his thoughts. “I notice my voice is fading. Harder to see,” says Leonard, looking into the darkness. “One thing’s led to another and at this point it seems unless I take action, my life will proceed in this simple, peaceful routine.” Paul, Leonard’s best and only friend, considers these words. “That's perfectly fine,” he responds, his dressing gown moving gently. “Preferable to striving for recognition and causing harm instead.”

For anyone tired by the noise and fast pace of today’s TV terrain, this series arrives like a cozy wrap with a hot drink of Ribena.

Like its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-part comedy developed by the writing duo, based on the author’s subtle book – looks disapprovingly at modern life; gazing critically above its spectacles at anything that involves unnecessary noise, abrupt changes or – heaven forfend – too much drive. This show on the contrary, an ode to introversion; a quiet celebration for those satisfied to amble along away from attention. However. Leonard (another sublimely idiosyncratic turn from Alex Lawther) feels restless. He feels an increasing “desire to unlock the entryways within my world … just a bit.” The loss of his beloved mother has whisked the rug from under his slippers and this young man, an anonymous author, now feels questioning the decisions that have brought him to where he is (unattached; defensively moustached; creating several kids' reference books for an employer who signs off messages with the phrase “ciao for now”).

And so Leonard starts himself on a quest to find happiness, alongside his more outgoing friend Paul (Laurie Kynaston) functioning as his close companion, mentor and partner in a weekly board games evening functioning as both symposium (“Does the pool feel warm due to children urinating, or do children urinate because it’s warm?”) and sanctuary.

(Why “Hungry” Paul? No idea. The beginning of the moniker is shrouded in mystery. It could be that the postal worker on one occasion consumed a sandwich very fast, or answered to a socially fraught incident by panic-peeling four scotch eggs by biting into them).

Arriving in Leonard's calm existence bursts a vibrant character (the actress), a fresh spring-loaded associate who cheerily offers to get rid of the awful manager (Paul Reid) in a workplace safety exercise. The rushing noise noticeable signals Leonard's peaceful routine undergoing a shake-up.

In another part in the first episode of the comedy focused less on story and centered around what a modern audience might call “atmosphere”, viewers encounter Hungry Paul’s dad (the brilliant the performer), a tired character who privately views, saves and reviews daytime quiz shows to dazzle his loving spouse using his trivia skills.

Leading the audience amidst this minor-key niceness there is a voiceover that is unmistakably – and, indeed, very much is – the famous actress. Yes, Julia Roberts. Should you wonder, “surely the inclusion of such a famous actor contradicts the series’ unshowy MO and at first acts merely as an interruption?” that's accurate. Nevertheless, the actress performs admirably, and phrases like “The issue with Leonard is the missing an expression of discovery” help ensure that initial doubts yield if not full admiration, then at least acceptance.

Enough complaining for now. The series' spirit has good intentions: the right place being “resting on a bench in the company of gentle comedies, pointing out its preferred bird.” The program that moves gently in comfortable attire, occasionally looking up into space, at other times looking at its feet, calmly assured that nothing is in the world as cheering as being with close companions.

Throw open the portals within your world, slightly, and let it in.