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In a calm suburb of the city, a man can be found outside his home, wearing a tank top and sharing his thoughts. “I feel myself getting quieter. Less noticeable,” states the main character, looking into the darkness. “One thing’s led to another and currently I feel like without a change, I’ll just carry on in this minor, harmless existence.” Paul, Leonard’s best and only friend, reflects on this statement. “There's no harm in that,” he responds, his dressing gown swaying in the breeze. “Better than striving for recognition and ending up damaging things.”

For anyone tired by the noise and rat-tat-tat of modern television offerings, this series steps in like a warm cover with a hot drink of a sweet cordial.

Like its harmless protagonists, the series – a six-part show developed by the writing duo, adapted from the novelist’s quiet book – casts a critical eye toward today's world; gazing disapprovingly above its eyewear on everything in the way of unnecessary noise, sudden movements or – perish the thought – too much drive. This show rather, a tribute to quiet people; a gentle tribute to people content to pootle around below the parapet. And yet. He (one more sublimely idiosyncratic performance by the actor) is unsettled. He notices a growing “desire to unlock the openings within my world … slightly.” The loss of his mother has yanked the floor from under his slippers and the 32-year-old, a ghost writer, now realizes reconsidering the choices that directed him to his current situation (alone; defensively moustached; working on multiple educational volumes for a man who concludes emails using the words “see you later”).

Therefore Leonard launches on a journey for personal satisfaction, with the slightly bolder friend Paul (the actor) serving as his trusted friend, life coach and partner in a recurring board games evening that serves both as debate (“Is the water heated due to children urinating, or do children urinate as it's heated?”) and sanctuary.

(How did Paul get his nickname? No idea. The beginning of this name appears lost in history. Perhaps the postal worker on one occasion consumed a sandwich very fast, or reacted to an awkward situation by panic-peeling four scotch eggs with his teeth).

Into Leonard’s gentle world bursts a vibrant character (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), a fresh spring-loaded colleague who lightheartedly proposes to eliminate his terrible supervisor (Paul Reid) in a workplace safety exercise. That whooshing sound audible represents Leonard's calm life experiencing a revolution.

In another part in the first episode of a series driven less by plot and more by what younger viewers may refer to as “vibes”, viewers encounter Paul's father (the consistently great the actor), a worn-out individual who covertly observes, saves and reviews daytime quiz shows to dazzle his loving spouse through his fact recall.

Leading viewers throughout this subtle warmth we hear a narrator who closely resembles – and actually is – Julia Roberts. Indeed, the star. In case you're considering, “surely the use of such a famous actor contradicts the program's low-key style and starts off as just an interruption?” that's accurate. Nevertheless, the actress performs admirably, and lines like “Leonard's challenge is his absence of a ‘eureka’ face” contribute to ensuring that initial doubts give way though not complete approval, then certainly understanding.

Enough complaining currently. The series' spirit is well-intentioned: which is “located on a seat alongside similar shows, indicating its favourite duck.” The program that moves gently in its sleeveless jumper, at times staring at the stars, at other times looking at its slippers, calmly assured that nothing is on Earth as cheering as passing time in the company of dear pals.

Open the doors and windows of your life, just a bit, and welcome it inside.