Leonard and Hungry Paul Analysis: A Gentle Show Featuring the Voice of the Famous Actress Brings an Ideal Cure to Contemporary Living

In a peaceful area of the city, a man can be found on the pavement, wearing a vest and expressing his thoughts. “I feel my voice is fading. Harder to see,” remarks Leonard, looking up at the night sky. “Circumstances have evolved and at this point I believe if I don’t do something, my life will proceed in this quiet, unremarkable life.” His friend Paul, Leonard’s best and only friend, reflects on the idea. “That's perfectly fine,” he responds, his dressing gown flapping gently. “Better than attempting to leave an impact and causing harm instead.”

For those tired by the bluster and rat-tat-tat of modern television offerings, the show arrives similar to a cozy wrap and warming mug of a sweet cordial.

Like its gentle leads, the series – a half-dozen installment show created by Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, based on the novelist’s understated 2019 novel – takes a dim view at modern life; peering disapprovingly above its spectacles toward anything that involves unnecessary noise, quick actions or – perish the thought – too much drive. This show rather, a celebration of shyness; a gentle tribute for those satisfied to wander out of the spotlight. But. The character (one more distinctly original performance from Alex Lawther) is uneasy. He notices a creeping “urge to throw open the doors and windows within my world … slightly.” The recent death of his beloved mother has pulled the carpet from under his slippers and this young man, an anonymous author, now realizes questioning the paths that have brought him to this point (single; sporting facial hair; creating a range of children’s encyclopedias for a man who concludes emails using the words “goodbye for now”).

Thus Leonard starts an exploration for personal satisfaction, alongside his more outgoing Hungry Paul (the performer) functioning as his close companion, life coach and ally in a recurring game night functioning as both debate (“Does the pool feel warm from kids relieving themselves, or do kids pee in it because it’s warm?”) and sanctuary.

(How did Paul get his nickname? No idea. The beginning of the moniker seems forgotten to the mists of time. It could be that Paul once ate a snack very fast, or answered to an awkward situation by panic-peeling four scotch eggs using his teeth).

Into Leonard’s gentle world comes Shelley (the actress), a recent energetic colleague who happily suggests to get rid of Leonard’s appalling boss (Paul Reid) at a fire practice. The swift movement noticeable is Leonard’s gentle world experiencing a revolution.

In another part during the opening installment of the comedy focused less on story and centered around what younger viewers may refer to as “mood”, we meet the older generation (the consistently great the actor), a tired character who secretly watches, saves and reviews daytime quiz shows to amaze his devoted partner with his general knowledge.

Leading the audience throughout this minor-key niceness there is a voiceover that sounds very much like – and truly is – the Hollywood icon. Truly, the celebrity. If you are thinking, “undoubtedly the presence of a big-name celebrity is at odds with the program's low-key style and at first acts merely as an interruption?” you're right. Still, Roberts does a good job, and dialogue for example “The issue with Leonard is his absence of a ‘eureka’ face” assist in making sure that early misgivings give way if not quite to appreciation, then at least acceptance.

But that’s enough grumbling for now. The show's core is in the right place: the right place being “resting on a bench in the company of gentle comedies, indicating the duck it loves.” It’s a series that moves gently wearing its simple clothes, at times staring at the stars, at other times looking toward the ground, serenely certain that there is nothing in the world as cheering as spending time with close companions.

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