---
title: "Deli Boys"
year: 2025
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/deli-boys"
fi1m_id: "deli-boys"
imdb_id: "tt23052950"
tmdb_id: 226346
wikidata_id: "Q128788903"
fi1m_score: 68
critics_score: 67
critics_reviews: 5
published: "2026-10-01T00:49:58.345169+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-01T00:50:16.012028+00:00"
region: "IN"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Deli Boys (2025)

Created by Abdullah Saeed · Drama, Comedy

## Identity

Deli Boys

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/deli-boys
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** deli-boys
- **IMDb ID:** tt23052950
- **TMDB ID:** 226346
- **Wikidata ID:** Q128788903
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23052950/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/226346, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128788903

**Fi1m score: 68** · Critics 67 (early) from 5 reviews

*In a sentence:* Two brothers inherit a cocaine empire and still cannot work the till; fortunately the auntie can

> Abdullah Saeed’s crime comedy is quick, rude and often funny, with Poorna Jagannathan running away with it as the family’s unflappable killer auntie. It is also thin where it matters, and ten episodes in we still barely know the brothers.

## Synopsis

Baba (Iqbal Theba) has built a chain of convenience stores and raised two sons to inherit it: Mir Dar (Asif Ali), the suited elder son who gives the speeches, and Raj Dar (Saagar Shaikh), who drifts, smokes and spends. When Baba dies, the brothers go looking for a will and a business. Instead Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan), the family friend they have called Auntie since childhood, takes them into the back room of a deli and shows them what their father sold. The stores are a front for a cocaine operation, Lucky has been running it for years, and an FBI agent, Mercer (Alexandra Ruddy), is asking questions. Mir wants to keep the family name clean. Raj wants to keep the money. Neither knows how to do either.

## Review

Abdullah Saeed’s series opens on a Pakistani American family that has done everything right. Baba (Iqbal Theba) built a chain of convenience stores from nothing, his elder son Mir (Asif Ali) wears the suits and gives the speeches, and his younger son Raj (Saagar Shaikh) does nothing much in expensive trainers. Then Baba dies, the brothers go looking for the will, and Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan), the family friend they have called Auntie all their lives, opens a door at the back of the deli. Behind it is a great deal of cocaine. *Deli Boys* is a comedy about two men who inherit the thing their father kept them from, and for most of its ten episodes it is quick, rude and good fun. It is not much more than that.

The pleasure of it is the pace. Saeed and his writing room, Michelle Nader, Mehar Sethi, Sudi Green, Kyle Lau, Nikki Kashani, Feraz Ozel Ellahie and Ekaterina Vladimirova among them, never let a scene hang about once the joke has landed. A body turns up, a plan is made, the plan goes wrong, cut. The violence is lit bright and flat, like the shop floor, and the gore arrives as a punchline rather than a shock. That is the right call for a comedy and the wrong one for anything that wants us to worry.

Jagannathan is the reason to watch. Lucky has been running the real business for years, has killed for it and will again, and Jagannathan plays her as a woman faintly bored by how easy it all is. She does the murders the way other aunties do the washing up, briskly and with a running commentary on the boys’ manners. We laughed out loud at her first killing, a proper, surprised laugh, and then we noticed we had been given no idea why this woman had spent her life protecting a dead man and his useless sons. The show never gets round to telling us. It is too busy with the next body.

Ali and Shaikh make a good double act. Ali gives Mir the tight, panicked competence of a man who has read the management books and found none of them covered this. Shaikh plays Raj as a stoner whose every bad idea arrives in a tone of total calm, and he has the better lines. Their scenes alone together are the warmest thing here, and the writers know it, which is why they keep interrupting them with a gun. Brian George, as the family fixer Ahmad, gets the best weary reaction shots, and Alfie Fuller’s Prairie, who worked for Baba and takes to the new trade faster than his heirs, is sharp and underused. Fred Armisen appears as Max Sugar in a part we will not describe, because it belongs to the later episodes.

The weak limb is the law. Alexandra Ruddy’s Agent Mercer is on the brothers’ trail from early on, and the FBI thread exists to give each episode a cliffhanger without ever making us believe anyone will be caught. Most critics have said the same and we agree with them. Eight directors share the ten episodes, Maureen Bharoocha, Nisha Ganatra, Oz Rodriguez, Jenni Konner, Andrew Ahn, Jeremy Konner, Fawzia Mirza and Ahmed Ibrahim, and the series looks and moves the same under all of them. That is tidy showrunning. It also means nobody was allowed to slow down and let a scene breathe.

The show is at its sharpest when it is about respectability rather than cocaine. The funeral, the uncles, the mothers who are not fooled for a second, the way Mir corrects his brother’s grammar in front of a corpse: these are observed by people who have been in those rooms, and they are funnier than any of the shootings. [*Weeds*](https://film.one/tv/weeds) (2005) did the suburban drug trade with a wink and [*Breaking Bad*](https://film.one/tv/breaking-bad) (2008) did it with dread. *Deli Boys* wants the wink, reaches now and then for the dread, and cannot hold it for more than a scene.

A second run of six episodes followed on 28 May 2026; this review is of the first ten. Watch them two at a time with a takeaway. You will laugh, you will not be moved, and you will not much mind.

*Fi1m score 68, published 1 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Deli Boys worth watching?**

*Deli Boys* is worth watching if you want a quick, rude crime comedy and do not mind one that stays shallow, and we scored it 68. Poorna Jagannathan's unflappable killer auntie is the reason to stay, and the brothers' scenes together are warm. Ten episodes in, though, we still barely knew them, and the FBI thread never convinces.

**Where can I watch Deli Boys in India?**

*Deli Boys* is not on any streaming or rental service in India at the moment. It is available in 45 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Deli Boys, and is it suitable for children?**

*Deli Boys* carries an 18 certificate and is not for children; bodies turn up regularly and the gore is played as a punchline rather than a shock. The violence is lit bright and flat, like the shop floor, so it is rarely frightening, but it is frequent and the language is coarse. Older teenagers raised on crime comedies will cope; the squeamish may not enjoy the first killing.

**How does Deli Boys compare to Four Lions?**

*Deli Boys* is lighter and more forgiving than [*Four Lions*](https://film.one/film/four-lions), which makes its incompetent men funny without ever letting them off the hook. Chris Morris's film is the sharper and more unsettling of the two, and the one we recommend if you want comedy that stings. *Deli Boys* wants the wink and reaches only now and then for the dread, so pick it for an easy evening.

**What should I watch after Deli Boys?**

After *Deli Boys*, try [*Four Lions*](https://film.one/film/four-lions) (2010, Fi1m 94): Chris Morris finds the comedy in incompetent men and never lets them off the hook. Then [*Weeds*](https://film.one/tv/weeds) (2005, Fi1m 76): The suburban drug trade as domestic comedy, before the genre got solemn about it.

### Reviews we read (5)

- **The AV Club**, Saloni Gajjar (B): The review finds the series a humorous delight despite weak suspense and a lazily executed FBI subplot. It especially praises Poorna Jagannathan’s scene-stealing performance as Lucky, highlighting her comic timing and physical comedy. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/deli-boys-review-tv-hulu)
- **IndieWire**, Proma Khosla (B-): Khosla finds the series a bizarre, hilarious, binge-worthy crime comedy, though its emotional arcs and romances are underdeveloped. She singles out the lead actors’ comic rhythm and brotherly bond, as well as Poorna Jagannathan’s commanding performance as Lucky. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/deli-boys-review-hulu-1235101323/)
- **Variety**, Alison Herman (70/100, inferred): Herman finds the comedy a light, easy ride that holds attention despite weak emotional grounding and little tension. She singles out Poorna Jagannathan’s exuberant turn as Auntie Lucky as a particular strength. [Read](https://variety.com/2025/tv/reviews/deli-boys-review-hulu-1236328438/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (35/100, inferred): Han finds the comedy entertaining but ultimately thin, with little emotional depth or distinctive perspective. She particularly praises Poorna Jagannathan’s lively performance as Lucky and the show’s Pakistani American details. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/deli-boys-review-hulu-1236148686/)
- **Collider**, Tania Hussain (9/10): The critic calls the series one of the year’s best new comedies, praising its chaotic, irreverent humor and unpredictability. She especially singles out the cast’s chemistry and sharp comedic timing, while noting that the brothers’ personal lives receive little exploration. [Read](https://collider.com/deli-boys-review/)

## Details

- **Created by:** Abdullah Saeed
- **Creator:** Abdullah Saeed
- **Director:** Nisha Ganatra, Oz Rodriguez, Jeremy Konner, Fawzia Mirza, Maureen Bharoocha, Ahmed Ibrahim, Andrew Ahn, Jenni Konner
- **Writer:** Abdullah Saeed, Mehar Sethi, Michelle Nader, Feraz Ozel Ellahie, Kyle Lau, Ekaterina Vladimirova, Nikki Kashani, Sudi Green
- **Producer:** Nora Silver, Jenni Konner, Michelle Nader
- **Cast:** Asif Ali as Mir Dar; Saagar Shaikh as Raj Dar; Poorna Jagannathan as Lucky; Alfie Fuller as Prairie; Brian George as Ahmad; Fred Armisen as Max Sugar; Amita Rao as Nandika; Iqbal Theba as Baba
- **Release (India):** 6 March 2025
- **Genres:** Drama, Comedy
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G_38cfaHk8

## Where to watch in India

Not streaming, renting or buying in India at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Righteous Gemstones* (2019): Another family business built on a lie, with the same taste for sudden violence.
- *Four Lions* (2010), Fi1m 94: Chris Morris finds the comedy in incompetent men and never lets them off the hook. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/four-lions.md)
- *Mo* (2022): A Houston Palestinian hustler’s life; warmer, slower, and better on what family costs.
- *Weeds* (2005), Fi1m 76: The suburban drug trade as domestic comedy, before the genre got solemn about it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/weeds.md)
- *Lilyhammer* (2012): A New York mobster hiding in Norway; the fish-out-of-water crime comedy done drily.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/deli-boys