🔗 Share this article

In a peaceful area of the Irish capital, an individual is standing outside his home, wearing a tank top and voicing his feelings. “I notice myself getting quieter. Less noticeable,” remarks the main character, staring up at the night sky. “Events have unfolded and now it seems without a change, I will continue in this quiet, unremarkable life.” His friend Paul, his closest confidant, reflects on the idea. “There's no harm in that,” he answers, his bathrobe swaying gently. “Preferable to striving for recognition and causing harm instead.”

For those exhausted by the noise and constant stimulation of current streaming landscape, Leonard and Hungry Paul steps in like a warm cover and a comforting beverage of Ribena.

Like its quiet characters, Leonard and Hungry Paul – a half-dozen installment program developed by the writing duo, inspired by Rónán Hession’s subtle 2019 novel – casts a critical eye on contemporary society; looking skeptically over its spectacles on everything related to disturbances, sudden movements or – goodness forbid – an abundance of ambition. The series on the contrary, a celebration of shyness; a subtle homage for those happy to wander away from attention. And yet. Leonard (another uniquely quirky turn by the actor) feels restless. He senses a creeping “need to open the doors and windows within my world … just a bit.” The passing of his parent has whisked the rug from under his slippers and Leonard, an anonymous author, now feels reconsidering the decisions that directed him to his current situation (alone; with a protective mustache; working on a range of educational volumes for an employer who ends messages with the phrase “ciao for now”).

Thus Leonard starts an exploration to find happiness, with the slightly bolder Hungry Paul (Laurie Kynaston) functioning as his confidante, mentor and ally during their regular gaming session that serves both as debate (“Is the water heated from kids relieving themselves, or do kids pee in it as it's heated?”) and safe space.

(What's the origin of "Hungry" Paul? The reason is unknown. The source of this name is shrouded in mystery. It could be that the postal worker on one occasion consumed a sandwich in record time, or responded to a tense moment by nervously peeling four scotch eggs by biting into them).

Into Leonard’s gentle world bursts a vibrant character (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), a fresh energetic associate who happily suggests to kill his terrible supervisor (the actor) during the office fire drill. That whooshing sound you can hear represents Leonard's calm life undergoing a shake-up.

Elsewhere in the initial show of the comedy focused less on story and centered around what the under-30s may refer to as “mood”, viewers encounter Hungry Paul’s dad (the consistently great the actor), a battered sofa of a man who privately views, saves and reviews television game programs to dazzle his adoring wife with his general knowledge.

Leading viewers through all this gentle kindness is a narrator who closely resembles – and, indeed, very much is – the famous actress. Truly, the celebrity. Should you wonder, “surely the inclusion of a major Hollywood star is at odds with the program's low-key style and initially serves only as a distraction?” you're right. Nevertheless, Roberts acquits herself well, and phrases like “Leonard’s problem is the missing a look of sudden insight” contribute to ensuring that initial doubts fade if not full admiration, then certainly understanding.

But that’s enough grumbling currently. The series' spirit has good intentions: that place is “sitting on a park bench alongside similar shows, showing the duck it loves.” The program that strolls leisurely in comfortable attire, occasionally looking up at the stars, occasionally down at its slippers, quietly confident that there is nothing on Earth as cheering as spending time in the company of close companions.

Unlock the entryways within your world, slightly, and welcome it inside.