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In a quiet neighborhood of Dublin, a man stands outside his home, wearing a sleeveless jumper and voicing his thoughts. “I notice myself getting quieter. Less noticeable,” remarks the main character, staring toward the stars. “One thing’s led to another and at this point I feel like unless I take action, I will continue in this quiet, unremarkable life.” His friend Paul, Leonard’s best companion, ponders these words. “Nothing wrong with that,” he answers, his dressing gown moving with the wind. “Superior to striving for recognition only to wind up defacing it.”

For anyone exhausted by the chaos and fast pace of current streaming terrain, this series arrives as a foil blanket with a hot drink of blackcurrant juice.

Like its quiet characters, this comedy – a half-dozen installment program written by the writing duo, inspired by the author’s understated story – looks disapprovingly at modern life; looking disapprovingly through its spectacles on everything in the way of loud sounds, abrupt changes or – goodness forbid – an abundance of ambition. This show is, instead, a tribute to quiet people; a quiet celebration to people happy to wander away from attention. But. He (one more sublimely idiosyncratic portrayal from Alex Lawther) is unsettled. He feels a growing “urge to throw open the openings in my existence … slightly.” The loss of his mother has pulled the carpet out from under him and the 32-year-old, a writer for others, now realizes questioning the paths which led him to where he is (unattached; defensively moustached; creating a range of kids' reference books for an employer who ends emails saying “ciao for now”).

Therefore Leonard starts an exploration for emotional fulfilment, with the slightly bolder Paul (the actor) acting as his confidante, mentor and co-conspirator in a weekly board games evening which acts as symposium (“Does the pool feel warm due to children urinating, or do kids pee in it because it’s warm?”) and safe space.

(How did Paul get his nickname? The reason is unknown. The source of this name is shrouded to the mists of time. Perhaps Paul previously devoured some food in record time, or answered to a tense moment by hastily opening some food items with his teeth).

Arriving in Leonard's calm existence cartwheels a vibrant character (the actress), a new energetic associate who lightheartedly proposes to get rid of the awful manager (the actor) at a fire practice. The rushing noise noticeable is Leonard’s gentle world experiencing a revolution.

In another part in the first episode of this program focused less on story and more by what younger viewers might call “vibes”, we meet Paul's father (the consistently great the actor), a worn-out individual who privately views, records then replays television game programs to amaze his adoring wife using his trivia skills.

Leading viewers amidst this minor-key niceness is a narrator who closely resembles – and, indeed, very much is – the famous actress. Yes, the celebrity. Should you wonder, “certainly the presence of a big-name celebrity clashes with the program's low-key style and starts off as just a distraction?” you would be correct. However, the actress performs admirably, and dialogue such as “Leonard's challenge is his absence of a ‘eureka’ face” assist in making sure that early misgivings yield though not complete approval, then at minimum tolerance.

Enough complaining at this time. The series' spirit is well-intentioned: that place is “resting on a bench alongside similar shows, indicating the duck it loves.” This is a show that ambles along in its sleeveless jumper, at times staring at the stars, sometimes downward at its slippers, calmly assured 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.