Must watch reviews: Leonard and Hungry Paul

Each week, the Must Watch podcast features reviews of new TV and streaming releases.

In this episode, Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell join Naga Munchetty to discuss Leonard and Hungry Paul.

The film follows two friends as they navigate small changes in their daily lives.

Leonard, a children's book writer, is dealing with the recent loss of his mother. Hungry Paul works part-time as a postman and enjoys board games.

But what do the Must Watch reviewers make of it?

Naga: "Scott, yay or nay?"

Scott: “This is a Must Watch for me.

“I watched this in one go, the whole thing.”

Hayley: “Really?”

Scott: “Absolutely adored it!

“I haven't read the books, but I think I will now.

“I mean, it's unlike, I think, a lot of other shows on at the moment.

“It is sort of deliberately low-stakes, as Hayley pointed out at the start.

“Alex Lawther’s character, Leonard, is very much happy in his own company.

“The narration by Julia Roberts says that he is seemingly celibate, for a lack of interest or opportunity, during the opening moments of the show.

“His life is very much in a shell.

“His mother then dies.

“From that moment, not that much happens.

“It’s very low-stakes.

“There’s a storyline about him asking whether he wants to take someone out for lunch.

“His colleague, played by Laurie Kynaston, plays a character called Hungry Paul, they meet up and they play…”

Hayley: “Do they ever tell us why he’s Hungry Paul?”

Scott: “They never do!

“They go and play chess together – a different board game seems to be the focus of every single episode and his character, Hungry Paul, is entering, and could possibly win, a competition about…”

Naga: “No spoilers.”

Scott: “…Email sign-offs in one of the episodes.

“But I really loved the gentle humour.

“It didn’t feel twee – that it felt it could have slipped into.

“I think it was a celebration of just ordinary lives.

“Ordinary people going on amongst their lives.

“It felt like an antidote to a lot of the high-stakes storylines that we see and we review all the time.

“I think it’s not cutesy.

“I think these characters, it’s about two boys, their friendship, their exploration of masculinity.

“I felt it handles loss and grief, it’s the undercurrent of this series – remarkably well, because it’s all about him trying to move on from the loss of his mother, whilst also trying not to forget about her either.

“And I think it has these dark bits of humour that I adored.

“For example, in one scene, he collects his mother’s ashes, and he asks, ‘Oh, do you want a bag?

“And…”

Naga: “This is so awful in a good way.”

Scott: “The ashes get put into a bag for life.

“It’s just funny.

“I don’t think it’s going to work for everybody, but I thought the leads, Alex Lawther, who’s been in a few things that we really like, and Laurie Kynaston as well, who you’ll recognise from many other things – alongside Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, who many people will know from Derry Girls… great combination.

“I thought it was a really fine adaptation of a TV show.”

Naga: “OK.

“Hayley?”

Hayley: “It’s a must-watch for me too.

“I thought it was gentle, sweet, and odd enough – with enough funny lines – that it overrode any closeness to twee that might have put me off a bit.

“It was a bit twee for me personally, and I’m probably giving this a must-watch because I’m desperate for good TV.

“But I’m also a huge fan of when someone tries to do something different and strange – especially if it’s in a contained number of episodes like this.

“I think some people will completely love it.

“I think it’s a nice cup-of-tea-and-a-sit-down of a TV show.

“Do you know what I mean?”

Naga: “I agree with everything you’ve both just said.

“I’ve only seen episode one.”

Scott: “You’re in for a treat.”

Naga: “I know and I’ve just downloaded it, because I actually think it’s going to be that kind of thing…

“I know you despair that I watch things on my phone, but there are reasons for that.”

Hayley: “They use a lot of lights in this, so you can see what’s going on.”

Naga: “Oh, good!

“But I’m so looking forward to sitting on the Tube and being absorbed by this, or just having a moment sitting aside and watching it.

“I thought it was wonderful.

"Had a little bit of After Life – you know, Ricky Gervais…’

Scott: “I know you hate it!”

Naga: “I know you hate it and that was twee and I loved it!

“I could look past all of it, and I loved After Life when it was out.

“But for me, I’m so looking forward to feeling calm and good and emotionally… not manipulated.

“I don’t think I’m going to be…”

Hayley: “Like happens in After Life?”

Naga: ‘Yes, it does!

“I did like it.

“I did like it.”

Hayley: “Alright, I’ll shut up about After Life.

“But I think if you’re a fan of something like The Detectorists…”

Naga: “Yes, something quiet.

“And it’s just lovely.

“The friendship between those two, I just think it’s lovely.

“And I do think they touch…

“The dark humour is wonderful.”

Scott: “I think it also touches on the joy and how necessary it is to sometimes take a step back, because Hungry Paul’s character, particularly, gets explored a bit more later in the series.

“This is a person who wakes up every morning, has his cereal, has his cup of tea, but he stares out of the window for 20 minutes.

“Doesn’t use his mobile phone.

“Really thinks things through.

“And his mother in this story says that ‘This is how he’s always been and she just respects him for it.’

“There’s something about not having to do everything all at once I really admired about this.”

Naga: “Definitely a must-watch!”

You can watch all six episodes of Leonard and Hungry Paul on BBC iPlayer now.

This week, the team also reviewed The Forsytes and The Iris Affair.

But before that, why not contact Scott and Hayley with the shows you’ve been loving, loathing or both on mustwatch@bbc.co.uk.