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In a peaceful suburb of Dublin, a person stands on the pavement, wearing a vest and sharing his concerns. “I feel I'm becoming more silent. Less noticeable,” states the main character, gazing toward the stars. “One thing’s led to another and now it seems if I don’t do something, I’ll just carry on in this quiet, unremarkable life.” Paul, Leonard’s best companion, considers the idea. “There's no harm in that,” he replies, his robe moving in the breeze. “Preferable to striving for recognition only to wind up defacing it.”

For viewers exhausted by the chaos and fast pace of current streaming landscape, the show comes as a foil blanket with a hot drink of Ribena.

In line with its harmless protagonists, Leonard and Hungry Paul – a six-episode show created by the writing duo, inspired by the author’s subtle book – looks disapprovingly on contemporary society; peering skeptically above its spectacles on everything related to disturbances, abrupt changes or – heaven forfend – too much drive. This show rather, a celebration of shyness; a subtle homage to people happy to wander out of the spotlight. And yet. He (one more distinctly original portrayal from the star) is unsettled. He feels a growing “desire to unlock the entryways of my life … slightly.” The loss of his parent has yanked the floor out from under him and the 32-year-old, a ghost writer, now realizes doubting the decisions that have brought him to his current situation (single; defensively moustached; working on a range of kids' reference books for a boss who signs off correspondence saying “goodbye for now”).

And so Leonard begins an exploration for emotional fulfilment, alongside his more outgoing friend Paul (the actor) acting as his trusted friend, guide and ally in a recurring gaming session functioning as both discussion (“Does the pool feel warm due to children urinating, or do children urinate since it's warm?”) and refuge.

(Why “Hungry” Paul? No idea. The origin of this name seems forgotten in history. It could be that Paul on one occasion consumed a snack unusually quickly, or responded to an awkward situation by nervously peeling four scotch eggs with his teeth).

Arriving in Leonard's calm existence bursts Shelley (the performer), a new spring-loaded colleague who cheerily offers to get rid of the awful manager (Paul Reid) at a fire practice. That whooshing sound you can hear represents Leonard's calm life experiencing a revolution.

In other scenes during the opening installment of the comedy driven less by plot and more by what younger viewers may refer to as “atmosphere”, we meet Hungry Paul’s dad (the consistently great Lorcan Cranitch), a battered sofa of a man who privately views, tapes and rewatches television game programs to amaze his adoring wife through his fact recall.

Leading viewers through all this minor-key niceness there is a voiceover that is unmistakably – and actually is – the famous actress. Truly, the celebrity. In case you're considering, “surely the inclusion of a major Hollywood star contradicts the show's modest approach and at first acts merely as a diversion?” that's accurate. However, Roberts does a good job, and dialogue for example “The issue with Leonard is that he lacks a look of sudden insight” contribute to ensuring that early misgivings fade if not quite to appreciation, then certainly understanding.

Enough complaining for now. Leonard and Hungry Paul’s heart has good intentions: the right place being “located on a seat alongside similar shows, indicating its preferred bird.” This is a show that strolls leisurely in its sleeveless jumper, occasionally looking up into space, at other times looking at its feet, calmly assured that nothing is in life as heartening as spending time with close companions.

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