The Story of Leonard and Hungry Paul Analysis: A Gentle Series Featuring the Voice of the Hollywood Star Offers an Ideal Antidote to Contemporary Living

In a quiet neighborhood of the city, a man can be found on the pavement, wearing a tank top and expressing his concerns. “I feel I'm becoming more silent. More invisible,” says Leonard, gazing toward the stars. “Circumstances have evolved and at this point it seems if I don’t do something, I’ll just carry on in this simple, peaceful routine.” His friend Paul, his only companion, considers these words. “Nothing wrong with that,” he responds, his dressing gown moving with the wind. “Superior to attempting to leave an impact only to wind up defacing it.”

For anyone tired by the bluster and constant stimulation of modern television terrain, Leonard and Hungry Paul arrives like a warm cover and warming mug of Ribena.

In line with its quiet characters, Leonard and Hungry Paul – a half-dozen installment comedy developed by Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, inspired by the novelist’s subtle book – casts a critical eye at modern life; peering critically through its prematurely middle-aged glasses at anything related to unnecessary noise, quick actions or – heaven forfend – too much drive. This show rather, an ode to introversion; a quiet celebration to people happy to pootle around away from attention. And yet. He (a further uniquely quirky performance by the actor) is uneasy. He notices an increasing “urge to throw open the entryways within my world … just a bit.” The recent death of his mother has yanked the floor away from his feet and this young man, a ghost writer, now feels reconsidering the paths which led him to where he is (alone; with a protective mustache; creating a range of educational volumes for an employer who concludes emails using the words “ciao for now”).

Therefore Leonard starts himself on a quest for emotional fulfilment, with the slightly bolder friend Paul (Laurie Kynaston) serving as his confidante, mentor and co-conspirator in a recurring game night which acts as symposium (“Is the pool warm from kids relieving themselves, or do children urinate because it’s warm?”) and refuge.

(What's the origin of "Hungry" Paul? No idea. The origin of the nickname is shrouded in history. Maybe Paul once ate a snack very fast, or responded to a tense moment by nervously peeling some food items by biting into them).

Arriving in Leonard's calm existence bursts a vibrant character (the actress), a fresh energetic co-worker who lightheartedly proposes to eliminate his terrible supervisor (the character) during the office fire drill. That whooshing sound you can hear represents Leonard's calm life undergoing a shake-up.

Elsewhere during the opening installment of this program focused less on story and centered around what younger viewers may refer to as “mood”, we meet Paul's father (the consistently great the performer), a tired character who privately views, tapes and rewatches television game programs to impress his devoted partner through his fact recall.

Guiding us throughout this subtle warmth is a narrator that sounds very much like – and truly is – Julia Roberts. Truly, the star. In case you're considering, “surely the inclusion of such a famous actor contradicts the series’ unshowy MO and initially serves only as an interruption?” you would be correct. Still, the actress performs admirably, and phrases like “Leonard's challenge is the missing a look of sudden insight” contribute to ensuring that early misgivings fade if not full admiration, then at least acceptance.

But that’s enough grumbling for now. The show's core is well-intentioned: that place is “sitting on a park bench next to the Detectorists, showing the duck it loves.” The program that moves gently in its sleeveless jumper, occasionally looking up into space, at other times looking at its slippers, serenely certain that there is nothing in the world as heartening as spending time with close companions.

Unlock the entryways of your life, just a bit, and let it in.