The American Dream comes to life inDeli Boys, but at what cost? In a land where anyone can turn rocks into diamonds, it seems like any newcomer can obtain riches — provided they have grit, dedication, and creativity. Yet, beneath these gleaming success stories lies a darker, far grittier secret. For brothers and deli heirs Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj (Saagar Shaikh), their father has always seemed like a clean-cut, hardworking man.But when tragedy literally strikes on the golf course and delivers a devastating blow to the business, they aren’t prepared for the truth he left behind. Deli Boys is one of the best new comedies of 2025, and deserves a binge-watch.
What Is ‘Deli Boys’ About?
Deli Boys introduces brothers Mir (Ali) and Raj (Shaikh), who could not be more different. Mir is the eager-to-please younger brother, a business graduate from what he proudly believes to be Philadelphia’s finest college, Drexel University. Raj, on the other hand, is a hippie, party-loving, drug-consuming rebel for whom the word “responsibility” simply does not exist. Despite their stark differences, the brothers share one thing — or rather, one person — their father, Ashard “Baba” Dar (Iqbal Theba), a Pakistani American immigrant and the formidable head of the successful deli chain ABC Deli.
Baba Dar’s origin story is the stuff of legends. Drawn to America as a land of opportunity — for business, education, even marriage — he arrived in Philadelphia from Pakistan in 1979 with just three dollars. His first break came at a deli, where he worked fifteen-hour days, seven days a week. He lived above the shop with nine other men, sharing only six shirts between them. The lone reminder of home was Caca Brand Achar, a tangled pickled mango staple of South Asian households. After taking over the deli, Baba’s entrepreneurial spark led him to invent the Mega Glug, a 124-ounce coffee bottle that still fits a car’s cupholder.
Fast-forward to the present, Baba Dar oversees forty ABC Delis across the Delaware Valley. His ambitions have only grown, as he’s eyeing golf course acquisitions as his next move. That’s why he summons Mir and Raj to meet him at a golf course one morning, announcing plans to expand the family business and finally bring his sons into an operation they’ve never been part of. There’s just one problem. Mid-speech, Baba is struck in the head by a flying golf ball and killed instantly. With the CEO of ABC Deli suddenly gone, Mir and Raj shockingly discover their father wasn’t a clean businessman, but the drug kingpin behind Dark DarCo.
‘Deli Boys’ Is Not Your Typical Immigrant Story
Deli Boys isn’t the first series to bring an immigrant story to a modern audience. Using a familiar brick-and-mortar framework, Kim’s Convenience follows the working-class, first-generation Kim family as they run a corner store in diverse Toronto while clashing with their more assimilated children. Master of None, meanwhile, centers on a South Asian aspiring actor who resists cultural expectations to pursue his lofty dreams. Fresh Off the Boattraces the fictionalized Taiwanese American Huang family as they move to a predominantly white Orlando neighborhood, so their father can open a steakhouse. Despite differences in geography, culture, and era, these stories share a common thread: chasing the immigrant dream of a better life across the ocean.
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Meanwhile, Deli Boys tells a different version of the immigrant story, one that still pays homage to its roots without caving to the realism typically expected of the classic immigrant, working-class narrative. Their father, Baba Dar, has already done the hard part of setting up shop, and now it’s Mir and Raj’s turn to take it into the future following his unexpected death. But here’s the thing: Mir and Raj never had to work a laborious job in their lives. They didn’t struggle to get by, but rather, they’re nepo babies with no idea how to run a deli business. Worse still, they discover that ABC Delis is merely a front for Baba Dar’s drug distribution operation, smuggling cocained inside bottles of Caca Brand Achar.
Mir and Raj could’ve chosen the easy route of fleeing to Tallahassee and starting anew. However, the two believe that would’ve been a huge disservice to what their late father sacrificed and provided for them. The least they can do is make sure that Baba’s name lives on through them. The learning curve, however, is steep. They have to learn everything their Baba mastered over more than three decades in a matter of days, from moving cocaine without attracting FBI attention, to making deals with fellow mobs, including the Italian mob, to secure territory in Philly. Plus, they have to do all of it without missing payments, getting arrested, or getting killed.
‘Deli Boys’ Proves That Your Family Can Become Your Greatest Ally or Deadliest Foe
They say you should never mix family and business, but family is the very reason Dark DarCo is ultimately saved by Mir and Raj. The brothers’ bond is the heart of Deli Boys. In the beginning of the show, they live in two entirely separate worlds and rarely see each other unless summoned by their father. They’ve always been this way, even as children. Raj is the golden eldest son; Mir is the one who has to try harder. Raj has fond memories of his father, while Mir has fewer moments to reminisce about.
Many know the sting of living in an older sibling’s shadow, especially when parents praise them for even the smallest things. That imbalance pushes the younger sibling to work ten times harder, often for only fleeting attention from their father. Mir and Raj aren’t the perfect brothers for each other, but when guns are pointed at them, they leave their egos behind and cushy comfort zones to protect one another — even if it means hitting someone from behind with a lamp or pulling a bullet from a bloody abdomen.
Of course, Mir and Raj can count on Baba’ partners, Aunt Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan) and Uncle Ahmad (Brian George), both of whom sit on Dark DarCo’s board of maliks, or consiglieres. Though they’re like family to Mir and Raj, the two have repeatedly expressed that the brothers are a liability due to their inexperience. One day, Aunt Lucky and Uncle Ahmad are Mir and Raj’s biggest supporters. But the moment they become an inconvenience, they risk being cut out of Dark DarCo. At the end of the day, when everyone else has little faith in them, Mir and Raj genuinely have each other’s backs through the good, bad, and bloody, making Deli Boys one of the most original and hilarious series of 2025.
- Release Date
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March 6, 2025
- Network
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Hulu
- Writers
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Michelle Nader
