Our take
Deli Boys moves fast. It starts out as a simple succession story, then it quickly evolves into a crime caper that’s also, subtly, a commentary on being brown and Muslim in America. It’s impressive enough in those respects, but above all else, Deli Boys is a well-written comedy. The fast pace helps, but it’s the characters’ ability to effortlessly quip and riff off one another that makes it highly watchable, if not downright addictive. The only downside to the show’s easygoing humor and cool capers is that the characters, though likable, lack real depth. But that’s easy enough to mine if the show is (hopefully) given a shot at another season.
What it won
Spirit Awards
2 noms
The story
When their convenience store-magnate father suddenly dies, a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba's secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld.
Elsewhere
"With the full season dropping at once, “Deli Boys” is not too dark, too violent, or too explicit to immediately watch all the way through. It’s bizarre and hilarious and fun enough to keep a viewer hooked, and hopefully to merit a second season."
— Proma Khosla
"Deli Boys can struggle to lay an emotional foundation... But the comedy itself, especially when entrusted to the likes of Jagannathan and Brian George as her internal rival Ahmad, gathers enough momentum to make the show a light and easy ride."
— Alison Herman
Mir and Raj Dar (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) are sons of a successful deli franchise owner in Philly, but when their father passes away, they come to realize that the business is just a front for a drug dealership, which they now have to run.
Never underestimate the power of a good cliffhanger. Each episode of Deli Boys ends with a very interesting one that prompts you to click on the next without even thinking about it.
This show is many things, but it’s a comedy before anything else—a well-written and easily hilarious one at that.
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
