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In a calm neighborhood of the Irish capital, a person can be found in his driveway, dressed in a tank top and expressing his concerns. “I notice my voice is fading. Harder to see,” remarks the main character, gazing into the darkness. “One thing’s led to another and currently I feel like if I don’t do something, my life will proceed in this quiet, unremarkable life.” Hungry Paul, his closest companion, considers these words. “That's perfectly fine,” he responds, his robe moving in the breeze. “Preferable to attempting to leave an impact and ending up damaging things.”

For anyone weary by the noise and rat-tat-tat of today’s TV landscape, the show arrives similar to a warm cover and warming mug of a sweet cordial.

In line with its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-episode program written by Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, based on the novelist’s quiet 2019 novel – looks disapprovingly on contemporary society; gazing critically over its spectacles toward anything in the way of unnecessary noise, sudden movements or – goodness forbid – an abundance of ambition. The program on the contrary, a celebration of shyness; a subtle homage for those happy to pootle around below the parapet. But. He (another sublimely idiosyncratic performance from Alex Lawther) is unsettled. He senses a growing “urge to throw open the entryways in my existence … a little.” The passing of his mother has yanked the floor away from his feet and the 32-year-old, an anonymous author, now feels doubting the paths that have brought him to his current situation (alone; with a protective mustache; writing multiple children’s encyclopedias for a boss who concludes correspondence with the phrase “ciao for now”).

Therefore Leonard begins on a journey to find happiness, with the slightly bolder Paul (the actor) functioning as his trusted friend, mentor and partner in a weekly gaming session which acts as discussion (“Is the water heated due to children urinating, or is it that kids pee because it’s warm?”) and safe space.

(How did Paul get his nickname? The reason is unknown. The source of the nickname is shrouded in history. Maybe Paul on one occasion consumed some food unusually quickly, or responded to a socially fraught incident by nervously peeling four scotch eggs with his teeth).

Entering Leonard's quiet life bursts a vibrant character (the performer), a recent energetic associate who happily suggests to kill Leonard’s appalling boss (the character) in a workplace safety exercise. The swift movement noticeable is Leonard’s gentle world being turned upside down.

Elsewhere during the opening installment of the comedy driven less by plot and more by what a modern audience might call “atmosphere”, viewers encounter Paul's father (the ever-wonderful the actor), a worn-out individual who covertly observes, saves and reviews television game programs to amaze his devoted partner through his fact recall.

Guiding the audience amidst this gentle kindness is a narrator who closely resembles – and, indeed, very much is – the Hollywood icon. Indeed, Julia Roberts. In case you're considering, “undoubtedly the presence of a big-name celebrity contradicts the show's modest approach and starts off as just an interruption?” that's accurate. Still, Roberts does a good job, and lines like “Leonard's challenge is his absence of an expression of discovery” assist in making sure that first reservations give way if not full admiration, then at least acceptance.

No more criticism at this time. Leonard and Hungry Paul’s heart is well-intentioned: which is “resting on a bench next to the Detectorists, pointing out its preferred bird.” The program that strolls leisurely in comfortable attire, occasionally looking up into space, occasionally down toward the ground, quietly confident that nothing is on Earth as cheering as passing time in the company of good friends.

Open the doors and windows of your life, a little, and allow it entry.