The Story of Leonard and Hungry Paul Analysis: A Gentle Series With Narration from the Hollywood Star Provides an Ideal Cure to Contemporary Living

In a quiet suburb of Dublin, a man stands in his driveway, sporting a tank top and sharing his concerns. “I notice my voice is fading. More invisible,” remarks the main character, staring into the darkness. “Circumstances have evolved and currently I believe without a change, I’ll just carry on in this simple, peaceful routine.” His friend Paul, his closest companion, ponders this statement. “That's perfectly fine,” he answers, his robe flapping with the wind. “Better than striving for recognition and causing harm instead.”

For anyone exhausted by the chaos and fast pace of current streaming offerings, this series comes similar to a cozy wrap and a comforting beverage of Ribena.

Similar to its quiet characters, the series – a six-part program developed by its authors, adapted from the novelist’s subtle 2019 novel – looks disapprovingly toward today's world; gazing skeptically above its eyewear toward anything in the way of loud sounds, abrupt changes or – perish the thought – an abundance of ambition. The series is, instead, an ode to introversion; a gentle tribute for those satisfied to pootle around below the parapet. But. Leonard (another uniquely quirky turn by the actor) is uneasy. He notices an increasing “urge to throw open the entryways in my existence … a little.” The passing of his mother has yanked the floor away from his feet and this young man, a ghost writer, now finds himself questioning the paths which led him to this point (unattached; defensively moustached; creating a range of educational volumes for a boss who ends correspondence using the words “goodbye for now”).

And so Leonard launches himself on a quest to find happiness, with the slightly bolder Hungry Paul (the actor) serving as his trusted friend, guide and co-conspirator in a weekly board games evening that serves both as symposium (“Is the pool warm because kids pee in it, or is it that kids pee because it’s warm?”) and sanctuary.

(What's the origin of "Hungry" Paul? The reason is unknown. The source of this name appears lost in history. It could be that the postal worker previously devoured a sandwich very fast, or reacted to a socially fraught incident by nervously peeling several snacks with his teeth).

Into Leonard’s gentle world comes a vibrant character (the performer), a new lively colleague who happily suggests to kill Leonard’s appalling boss (Paul Reid) during the office fire drill. The swift movement noticeable signals Leonard's peaceful routine experiencing a revolution.

In other scenes in the initial show of this program driven less by plot and more by what the under-30s could describe as “mood”, we are introduced to Paul's father (the ever-wonderful Lorcan Cranitch), a worn-out individual who secretly watches, records then replays television game programs to impress his loving spouse using his trivia skills.

Guiding the audience through all this gentle kindness is a narrator that is unmistakably – and, indeed, very much is – Julia Roberts. Yes, the star. Should you wonder, “undoubtedly the inclusion of a major Hollywood star contradicts the series’ unshowy MO and initially serves only as a distraction?” you're right. Nevertheless, Roberts does a good job, and phrases such as “The issue with Leonard is the missing a ‘eureka’ face” contribute to ensuring that early misgivings yield though not complete approval, then at minimum tolerance.

But that’s enough grumbling currently. The show's core has good intentions: which is “sitting on a park bench next to the Detectorists, showing its preferred bird.” The program that moves gently in comfortable attire, occasionally looking up into space, occasionally down at its slippers, serenely certain that nothing is in the world as uplifting as being in the company of good friends.

Throw open the portals within your world, a little, and allow it entry.