Leonard & Hungry Paul Analysis: A Gentle Series With Narration from Julia Roberts Offers a Great Antidote to Today's World

In a calm neighborhood of Dublin, a man can be found in his driveway, wearing a tank top and sharing his concerns. “I notice I'm becoming more silent. Harder to see,” states the protagonist, gazing toward the stars. “Circumstances have evolved and now I feel like without a change, I’ll just carry on in this simple, peaceful routine.” His friend Paul, his closest and only friend, reflects on these words. “That's perfectly fine,” he answers, his dressing gown flapping in the breeze. “Superior to striving for recognition and ending up damaging things.”

For anyone tired by the noise and rat-tat-tat of today’s TV landscape, this series arrives as a cozy wrap and a comforting beverage of Ribena.

In line with its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-episode comedy developed by the writing duo, based on the novelist’s quiet story – casts a critical eye on contemporary society; looking skeptically through its spectacles on everything in the way of unnecessary noise, sudden movements or – goodness forbid – an abundance of ambition. The program is, instead, an ode to introversion; a subtle homage to people content to wander out of the spotlight. However. Leonard (a further sublimely idiosyncratic portrayal by the actor) is uneasy. He feels a growing “urge to throw open the doors and windows of my life … a little.” The recent death of his beloved mother has whisked the rug from under his slippers and Leonard, an anonymous author, now finds himself doubting the decisions which led him to his current situation (single; with a protective mustache; creating multiple kids' reference books for an employer who concludes messages saying “see you later”).

Therefore Leonard starts an exploration to find happiness, with the slightly bolder Hungry Paul (the actor) acting as his confidante, mentor and co-conspirator in a weekly board games evening functioning as both discussion (“Is the water heated from kids relieving themselves, or do kids pee in it because it’s warm?”) and refuge.

(How did Paul get his nickname? No idea. The beginning of this name appears lost in history. Perhaps Paul on one occasion consumed some food unusually quickly, or responded to an awkward situation by hastily opening some food items using his teeth).

Entering Leonard's quiet life cartwheels a vibrant character (the performer), a fresh energetic colleague who happily suggests to kill his terrible supervisor (Paul Reid) during the office fire drill. The rushing noise you can hear represents Leonard's calm life undergoing a shake-up.

Elsewhere in the initial show of a series focused less on story and more by what the under-30s could describe as “atmosphere”, we are introduced to Paul's father (the brilliant Lorcan Cranitch), a worn-out individual who privately views, tapes and rewatches television game programs to dazzle his adoring wife using his trivia skills.

Guiding viewers amidst this minor-key niceness we hear a narrator who closely resembles – and actually is – Julia Roberts. Truly, the celebrity. Should you wonder, “surely the use of a big-name celebrity is at odds with the program's low-key style and initially serves only as a diversion?” that's accurate. Still, the actress performs admirably, and dialogue like “The issue with Leonard is his absence of a look of sudden insight” help ensure that initial doubts yield though not complete approval, then at least acceptance.

Enough complaining for now. The show's core has good intentions: the right place being “located on a seat alongside similar shows, indicating its favourite duck.” The program that moves gently wearing its simple clothes, at times staring into space, sometimes downward at its slippers, quietly confident that no experience is in life as heartening as being in the company of dear pals.

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

Wanda Poole MD
Wanda Poole MD

Environmental scientist and writer passionate about green living and sustainable practices.