Leonard & Hungry Paul Review: A Soothing Comedy Narrated by the Famous Actress Provides a Great Cure to Contemporary Living

In a peaceful area of the city, a person stands outside his home, wearing a sleeveless jumper and sharing his concerns. “It seems like my voice is fading. More invisible,” says the protagonist, staring up at the night sky. “Events have unfolded and at this point it seems unless I take action, I will continue in this simple, peaceful routine.” Paul, his closest confidant, considers this statement. “Nothing wrong with that,” he responds, his robe moving in the breeze. “Superior to attempting to leave an impact only to wind up defacing it.”

For those exhausted by the noise and constant stimulation of modern television offerings, Leonard and Hungry Paul comes as a foil blanket with a hot drink of a sweet cordial.

Like its harmless protagonists, Leonard and Hungry Paul – a half-dozen installment program created by its authors, inspired by Rónán Hession’s quiet story – casts a critical eye at modern life; looking critically over its spectacles at anything in the way of unnecessary noise, abrupt changes or – goodness forbid – an abundance of ambition. The series on the contrary, an ode to introversion; a gentle tribute to people content to wander below the parapet. However. He (one more uniquely quirky turn from Alex Lawther) is uneasy. He feels a creeping “desire to unlock the doors and windows of my life … just a bit.” The passing of his mother has whisked the rug from under his slippers and Leonard, an anonymous author, now feels reconsidering the decisions which led him to where he is (unattached; defensively moustached; working on several educational volumes for a boss who ends correspondence saying “ciao for now”).

And so Leonard launches himself on a quest to find happiness, alongside his more outgoing Hungry Paul (the actor) acting as his close companion, life coach and co-conspirator during their regular game night that serves both as discussion (“Is the water heated because kids pee in it, or do kids pee in it because it’s warm?”) and safe space.

(How did Paul get his nickname? No idea. The source of the nickname appears lost in history. It could be that Paul once ate some food in record time, or responded to a tense moment by panic-peeling several snacks with his teeth).

Into Leonard’s gentle world bursts Shelley (the performer), a new spring-loaded colleague who cheerily offers to eliminate the awful manager (Paul Reid) in a workplace safety exercise. The rushing noise you can hear is Leonard’s gentle world experiencing a revolution.

In another part during the opening installment of a series focused less on story and more on what a modern audience might call “vibes”, viewers encounter Hungry Paul’s dad (the ever-wonderful Lorcan Cranitch), a tired character who secretly watches, records then replays daytime quiz shows to impress his loving spouse with his general knowledge.

Leading the audience amidst this minor-key niceness is a narrator that is unmistakably – and, indeed, very much is – the Hollywood icon. Indeed, the star. If you are thinking, “certainly the inclusion of a major Hollywood star contradicts the show's modest approach and at first acts merely as a distraction?” you're right. However, the actress performs admirably, and phrases for example “The issue with Leonard is that he lacks an expression of discovery” help ensure that first reservations fade though not complete approval, then at minimum tolerance.

Enough complaining currently. Leonard and Hungry Paul’s heart is well-intentioned: that place is “located on a seat next to the Detectorists, pointing out its favourite duck.” The program that moves gently in comfortable attire, sometimes gazing upward into space, sometimes downward at its feet, serenely certain that no experience is in the world as heartening as passing time with good friends.

Open the doors and windows within your world, just a bit, and allow it entry.