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In a quiet neighborhood of Dublin, an individual can be found on the pavement, dressed in a vest and expressing his thoughts. “I feel myself getting quieter. Harder to see,” states the main character, gazing toward the stars. “Events have unfolded and now I believe without a change, I’ll just carry on in this quiet, unremarkable life.” Hungry Paul, his only companion, ponders these words. “That's perfectly fine,” he responds, his dressing gown swaying gently. “Preferable to attempting to leave an impact and ending up damaging things.”

For those weary by the chaos and fast pace of modern television landscape, this series arrives like a warm cover with a hot drink of a sweet cordial.

In line with its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-episode program created by the writing duo, inspired by Rónán Hession’s subtle book – takes a dim view toward today's world; peering disapprovingly through its spectacles on everything in the way of disturbances, quick actions or – perish the thought – excessive aspiration. The series on the contrary, an ode to introversion; a subtle homage to people happy to amble along away from attention. And yet. Leonard (one more sublimely idiosyncratic turn from the star) feels restless. He feels a growing “desire to unlock the doors and windows within my world … slightly.” The recent death of his beloved mother has yanked the floor from under his slippers and this young man, an anonymous author, now finds himself reconsidering the paths which led him to this point (single; sporting facial hair; working on multiple children’s encyclopedias for a boss who ends emails with the phrase “see you later”).

And so Leonard launches an exploration to find happiness, accompanied by the somewhat braver Paul (the actor) functioning as his confidante, mentor and ally in a recurring game night that serves both as discussion (“Does the pool feel warm due to children urinating, or is it that kids pee because it’s warm?”) and safe space.

(What's the origin of "Hungry" Paul? No idea. The origin of this name appears lost in history. Perhaps Paul once ate a sandwich unusually quickly, or answered to a socially fraught incident by nervously peeling some food items by biting into them).

Arriving in Leonard's calm existence bursts Shelley (the actress), a new lively associate who lightheartedly proposes to get rid of the awful manager (Paul Reid) during the office fire drill. The rushing noise noticeable represents Leonard's calm life undergoing a shake-up.

In other scenes in the initial show of this program driven less by plot and more by what the under-30s might call “atmosphere”, we are introduced to Hungry Paul’s dad (the ever-wonderful Lorcan Cranitch), a battered sofa of a man who secretly watches, tapes and rewatches trivia competitions to impress his adoring wife using his trivia skills.

Leading the audience through all this gentle kindness there is a voiceover who closely resembles – and truly is – the famous actress. Yes, the celebrity. If you are thinking, “undoubtedly the use of a big-name celebrity is at odds with the show's modest approach and at first acts merely as a distraction?” that's accurate. However, Roberts acquits herself well, and lines for example “Leonard’s problem is his absence of a ‘eureka’ face” contribute to ensuring that first reservations yield though not complete approval, then at least acceptance.

But that’s enough grumbling at this time. Leonard and Hungry Paul’s heart is in the right place: that place is “sitting on a park bench alongside similar shows, showing its preferred bird.” It’s a series that moves gently in comfortable attire, occasionally looking up toward the sky, sometimes downward toward the ground, quietly confident that nothing is on Earth as heartening as being in the company of close companions.

Open the doors and windows in your existence, a little, and welcome it inside.