The Story of Leonard and Hungry Paul Overview: A Calming Show Narrated by the Famous Actress Brings an Ideal Cure to Modern Life

In a peaceful suburb of Dublin, a person stands in his driveway, sporting a vest and sharing his concerns. “I notice my voice is fading. Harder to see,” states the main character, looking toward the stars. “Events have unfolded and at this point I believe if I don’t do something, my life will proceed in this minor, harmless existence.” Hungry Paul, his closest confidant, considers the idea. “That's perfectly fine,” he answers, his dressing gown swaying with the wind. “Better than trying to make a mark only to wind up defacing it.”

For those weary by the chaos and fast pace of modern television offerings, this series steps in like a warm cover and a comforting beverage of Ribena.

Like its quiet characters, the series – a six-episode comedy written by its authors, inspired by Rónán Hession’s quiet 2019 novel – takes a dim view at modern life; looking critically over its prematurely middle-aged glasses at anything that involves unnecessary noise, quick actions or – perish the thought – too much drive. The program is, instead, a tribute to quiet people; a quiet celebration for those satisfied to amble along out of the spotlight. But. The character (another sublimely idiosyncratic portrayal from Alex Lawther) is uneasy. He feels an increasing “need to open the entryways of my life … just a bit.” The recent death of his parent has yanked the floor away from his feet and Leonard, an anonymous author, now finds himself doubting the decisions that directed him to his current situation (unattached; with a protective mustache; writing a range of educational volumes for a man who ends emails with the phrase “goodbye for now”).

And so Leonard starts an exploration for personal satisfaction, alongside his more outgoing Hungry Paul (Laurie Kynaston) functioning as his confidante, mentor and ally during their regular gaming session that serves both as symposium (“Is the water heated due to children urinating, or do children urinate since it's warm?”) and safe space.

(Why “Hungry” Paul? It's unclear. The origin of the nickname seems forgotten to the mists of time. It could be that he on one occasion consumed a sandwich unusually quickly, or reacted to an awkward situation by hastily opening four scotch eggs by biting into them).

Into Leonard’s gentle world comes a new colleague (the actress), a fresh lively associate who happily suggests to get rid of his terrible supervisor (the actor) during the office fire drill. That whooshing sound audible represents Leonard's calm life undergoing a shake-up.

Elsewhere in the initial show of this program driven less by plot and more by what a modern audience could describe as “atmosphere”, we are introduced to the older generation (the consistently great the performer), a tired character who secretly watches, saves and reviews daytime quiz shows to amaze his adoring wife through his fact recall.

Shepherding us throughout this subtle warmth there is a voiceover that sounds very much like – and, indeed, very much is – the Hollywood icon. Truly, the celebrity. In case you're considering, “certainly the presence of a big-name celebrity is at odds with the show's modest approach and at first acts merely as an interruption?” you would be correct. Nevertheless, Roberts does a good job, and phrases for example “Leonard’s problem is his absence of a ‘eureka’ face” help ensure that initial doubts yield though not complete approval, then at minimum tolerance.

No more criticism for now. The show's core has good intentions: the right place being “located on a seat in the company of gentle comedies, pointing out the duck it loves.” This is a show that ambles along in comfortable attire, sometimes gazing upward at the stars, at other times looking toward the ground, quietly confident that no experience is on Earth as heartening as passing time with close companions.

Unlock the entryways within your world, just a bit, and welcome it inside.