It’s not every day that two Marvel Cinematic Universe actors headline a sitcom, but that is the case with Deli Boys, the new crime comedy series from Hulu. WandaVision‘s Asif Ali and Ms. Marvel‘s Saagar Shaikh star in the series, and though this particular duo may lack the star power some of their MCU counterparts have, they make up for it with incredible comedic timing and a unique premise.
Created by investigative journalist and Bong Appétit producer Abdullah Saeed and run by Girls‘ Jenni Konner and 2 Broke Girls‘ Michelle Nader, Deli Boys dropped all ten episodes of its first season onto Hulu earlier this month. The unique comedy follows Ali and Shaikh as two brothers—Mir and Raj—who have to take over the family business after their father’s untimely death. Unfortunately for them, their father didn’t simply own a chain of convenience stores as they were led to believe… he was, in fact, a secret drug kingpin. Hilarity ensues as the spoiled rich boys must figure out how to run a criminal empire on the fly. As you’d imagine, they aren’t very good at it.
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Deli Boys Is A Near-Perfect Melding Of Great Casting And Hilarious Writing
As Hulu and FX Productions proved with the sleeper hit Reservation Dogs, comedy television doesn’t have to be mainstream (i.e. white) to be successful and hilarious. Other shows like Fleabag, Insecure, and The White Lotus have all proven that audiences are willing to step outside traditional sitcom comfort zones to be entertained, and Deli Boys follows suit accordingly. What would two spoiled, sheltered rich boys do if they were suddenly thrust into the leadership of a massive crime family? Deli Boys is there to answer that oddly specific question for you! With a top-notch idea bolstered by hilarious writing headlined by Feraz Ozel Ellahie, Nikki Kashani, and series creator Abdullah Saeed, Deli Boys is an authentic laugh-riot that will genuinely leave you in stitches.
Of course, great writing means nothing if you don’t have a cast who can run with the material. Thankfully, Deli Boys has that in spades. Asif Ali might be best known for showing up on both WandaVision and Agatha All Along, but the improv comedy veteran has built an impressive list of credits over the past two decades, appearing in everything from NCIS and The Good Doctor to Arrested Development and Modern Family. He’s in Shrinking! He’s in Ghosts! He’s in The Mandalorian! Asif Ali is basically everywhere, which makes him an interesting counterpart for his co-star Saagar Shaikh. After a few exceedingly small roles in the 2010s, Shaikh got his big break as Kamala’s brother Aamir on Ms. Marvel. Since then, he voiced Farad Kallob in the Bethesda video game Starfield and returned to the MCU as Aamir in The Marvels. If Deli Boys takes off like it should, Shaikh should join his co-star brother Ali as an actor you see all the time.
Deli Boys has more than just two great leads in Ali and Shaikh, though. Its supporting cast is filled with character acting greats that’ll keep you tuning in for me. Iqbal Theba—of Glee and Community fame—plays the boys’ crime lord father and Never Have I Ever‘s Poorna Jagannathan plays Lucky, the unfortunate woman who must mentor the boys as they take over the family business. Throw in Brian George as the skeptical Ahmad, Kevin Corrigan as a rival crime boss, Tim Baltz as an FBI director, and Alfie Fuller as an afro-futurist shaman, and you’ve got a truly talented cast to bring the crazy show to life.
Deli Boys Is Getting The Critical Love It Deserves, But Will Viewers Follow?
At the time of writing, Deli Boys is sitting on a 96% Critics’ Score on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 74 from Metacritic. Those are two pretty incredible scores for any comedy show, but especially for a half-hour single-camera sitcom with an outlandish premise. Numerous critics are singling out the show for praise. For example, Time‘s Judy Berman had nothing but effusive praise: “Concealed within these broad characters is a capacity for emotional nuance that you don’t often see in either a sub-Sopranos gangster show or a half-hour action comedy. By making us care what happens to Mir and Dar and their aunties and uncles, Deli Boys balances bloody knuckles with a tender heart.” Similarly, IGN‘s Devan Suber claims “Deli Boys emerges as a highlight of this young year, layering an engaging criminal caper on top of a comedy about the Pakistani immigrant experience. Its blend of silliness and specificity is a winning combo, and Poorna Jagannathan steals the show.”
The only question left for Deli Boys is whether audiences will show up for it. Adolescence, Daredevil: Born Again, Severance, and The White Lotus seem to be garnering all the television-based headlines at this point in time. All four of those shows are their respective streamers’ biggest projects at the moment. Unfortunately for Deli Boys, it released the same month as Paradise, one of Hulu’s biggest forays into original content yet. One would hope that a half-hour sitcom with a scant ten episodes could get its hooks in people quite easily, but it is never simple to predict what people will latch onto.
It could take some time for people to get the word out, but here’s hoping Deli Boys at least grabs enough eyeballs to get a second-season renewal. We’re in dire need of more laughs nowadays, anyway. Hulu could do everyone a solid and bring the crime comedy back for at least one more go-around.
