After their beloved “Baba” dies unexpectedly, overindulged and sheltered Pakistani-American brothers Mir and Raj (Asaf Ali and Saagar Shaikh) learn he wasn’t just a self-made millionaire deli owner who acquired his fortune by satisfying America’s demand for 128 oz of coffee in a convenient-to-carry barrel, but the head of a criminal enterprise they knew nothing about.
Stripped of their wealth and abandoned by their peers, the clueless brothers take over the last remaining family deli, unaware they’re inheriting more than just a business. Under the dubious guidance of their sharp-witted, gun-toting Lucky Auntie (Poorna Jagannathan), they stumble headfirst into the REAL family business — drug-smuggling, money laundering, blackmailing, just to name a few — in a clumsy attempt to claim their legacy with a crash course in the seedy underbelly of the crime world, as well as their first experience with an actual hard day’s work.
Created by Abdullah Saeed and developed by Jenni Konner, Hulu’s Deli Boys is an enterprising new comedy that explores the hilarity and danger of running an organized crime operation. As the grieving brothers, Ali and Shaikh tap into sitcom lore, reinventing the classic Odd Couple dynamic. As Mir, Ali plays the straight-laced son who spent his life preparing to take over what he thought was a legit family business, while Raj is the free-spirited, aimless brother, a “Philly 10” with little interest outside of recreational drugs and occasional orgies. Together, they fumble their way through the dark side of the deli business — where pushing Tasty Cakes takes a backseat to laundering money, dealing drugs, and bribing officials. The two create an entertaining dynamic that plays off each other quite well, even if the relationship is a bit cliche.
Enter Jagannathan’s Lucky, the no-nonsense mastermind reluctantly tasked with keeping her naive nephews in line. Her struggle to manage the operation while babysitting these two “baby men” provides some of the show’s best comedic moments. Jagannathan shines, delivering a performance that balances deadpan wit with exasperated charm.
Beyond the standard pitfalls of running a drug cartel, including violence, rival gangs, and law enforcement threats, Deli Boys also takes on issues of workplace misogyny, cultural homogenization, and the burdens of generational legacy, all through an absurdist lens. And while the show cleverly plays with classic crime-family and odd-couple tropes, it sometimes succumbs to the very clichés it aims to subvert. In early episodes, the humor is sharp but inconsistent, and while its unique premise and unexpected bursts of violence might attract curious viewers, some comedic beats fall flat … at first.
However, as the show progresses, it slowly transforms, as the boys begin to find their footing and move along their character arcs. The quirkiness of the comedy starts to lift the series as the writing finds its path, elevating the jokes, the characters, and the overall journey for the viewer.
Deli Boys is a bold attempt at blending dark comedy with cultural commentary, offering a fresh spin within the crime-comedy genre. While it isn’t the first dark comedy about the criminal underworld (Barry comes to mind) or the first comedy centered around a family-owned convenience store (like Kim’s Convenience) it does carve out its own niche, creating a unique and morbidly funny world through surprise character developments, sudden bursts of violence, and a premise that weaves cultural identity into its darkly comedic core. ❖