The Story of Leonard and Hungry Paul Review: A Gentle Show Narrated by the Hollywood Star Brings the Perfect Remedy to Modern Life

In a peaceful area of the Irish capital, a person stands outside his home, dressed in a tank top and expressing his thoughts. “I feel I'm becoming more silent. Harder to see,” remarks Leonard, gazing into the darkness. “One thing’s led to another and at this point I believe if I don’t do something, I will continue in this simple, peaceful routine.” His friend Paul, Leonard’s best and only friend, reflects on this statement. “That's perfectly fine,” he responds, his bathrobe swaying with the wind. “Preferable to striving for recognition only to wind up defacing it.”

For those exhausted by the noise and fast pace of today’s TV landscape, Leonard and Hungry Paul arrives as a warm cover and a comforting beverage of Ribena.

Similar to its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-episode show developed by Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, adapted from the author’s quiet 2019 novel – takes a dim view toward today's world; peering disapprovingly over its eyewear at anything that involves disturbances, abrupt changes or – perish the thought – an abundance of ambition. The series is, instead, a tribute to quiet people; a subtle homage for those happy to pootle around away from attention. And yet. The character (another sublimely idiosyncratic turn from the star) feels restless. He notices a creeping “urge to throw open the doors and windows within my world … a little.” The loss of his parent has whisked the rug from under his slippers and Leonard, a writer for others, now feels reconsidering the paths which led him to where he is (unattached; defensively moustached; working on several educational volumes for a boss who ends emails using the words “ciao for now”).

Therefore Leonard launches himself on a quest for emotional fulfilment, accompanied by the somewhat braver Hungry Paul (Laurie Kynaston) serving as his trusted friend, guide and partner during their regular game night which acts as debate (“Does the pool feel warm due to children urinating, or do children urinate since it's warm?”) and sanctuary.

(Why “Hungry” Paul? The reason is unknown. The source of the moniker appears lost to the mists of time. Maybe the postal worker once ate a sandwich in record time, or answered to a tense moment by hastily opening four scotch eggs by biting into them).

Entering Leonard's quiet life bursts a new colleague (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), a recent spring-loaded associate who lightheartedly proposes to eliminate the awful manager (the character) at a fire practice. The rushing noise audible is Leonard’s gentle world experiencing a revolution.

Elsewhere in the first episode of this program focused less on story and centered around what a modern audience could describe as “vibes”, viewers encounter Hungry Paul’s dad (the brilliant the performer), a battered sofa of a man who secretly watches, tapes and rewatches daytime quiz shows to amaze his devoted partner with his general knowledge.

Shepherding viewers amidst this gentle kindness is a narrator that is unmistakably – and actually is – Julia Roberts. Indeed, the star. Should you wonder, “undoubtedly the presence of a big-name celebrity clashes with the program's low-key style and initially serves only as an interruption?” that's accurate. However, the actress performs admirably, and lines for example “The issue with Leonard is that he lacks a ‘eureka’ face” assist in making sure that early misgivings give way if not full admiration, then at minimum tolerance.

No more criticism currently. The series' spirit is well-intentioned: that place is “sitting on a park bench in the company of gentle comedies, pointing out the duck it loves.” The program that moves gently in its sleeveless jumper, sometimes gazing upward into space, at other times looking at its slippers, serenely certain that no experience is in life as heartening as passing time alongside dear pals.

Throw open the portals in your existence, a little, and welcome it inside.