‘Deli Boys' is a funny, timely ride for our distracted era
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Ill-prepared to step into their father's blood-stained chappals, the Dar brothers must lean heavily on their family friend and fellow DarCo board member 'Lucky Auntie' (Poorna Jagannathan) to teach them the inner workings of the 'Dark DarCo' ring. The transition of power inside Dark DarCo leaves the enterprise hobbled and vulnerable at a time when a big deal with a Peruvian gang is already underway. If Dark DarCo doesn't sell off its inventory and repay the Peruvians, their lives will be at stake.
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Saagar Shaikh and Asif Ali in "Deli Boys."
Disney/James Washington/Disney
What might have been a bloody '
Creator Abdullah Saaeed was previously known for his work on Viceland's 'Bong Appetit' cooking show, where he invited renowned chefs to cook with him using his weed-infused ingredients, and a weekly column turned documentary, 'Weediquette,' which examined the industry and culture around marijuana. He's clearly bringing some personal experience to bear on Raj's stoner new age outlook. But dig a little deeper, and the corporate-minded Mir character might also be a conduit for Saaeed's perspective on the current media environment.
Take, for example, the scene when Raj gets stabbed in the stomach and urges his brother Mir to stick his fingers into the wound 'to smell for poop' as a means of determining infection. 'Didn't you watch '
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These two personalities undoubtedly seem like an odd duo to run a criminal enterprise, but this is what 'Deli Boys' does best: blends all of life, from the truly absurd to the shockingly dark, and even the hopelessly mundane. The characters are all exaggerated, and yet also deeply real at the same time, and the dialogue only plays up this duality.
When Lucky Auntie, the right hand woman to the boys' father Baba Dar (Iqbal Theba), holds a board meeting for the more accurately named 'Dark Darco,' she says, 'We're in the red. Blood red,' without a hint of a smile, and yet the humor is palpable. In another scene, older brother Raj attempts to catch a runaway drug runner by leaving out a plate of pretzels as bait. 'Life is not a cartoon!' Mir exasperatedly snaps, only to see the plan actually work seconds later.
Perhaps my favorite moment of all was when the brothers attempted to sell a local mob boss on the potency of their reformulated cocaine as a 'rebrand' effort. I began to gasp for laughter when the demonstration turned into a 'Shark Tank' demonstration, complete with dramatic music turns, an infomercial-esque skit, and an embellished final proposal. As Raj implores, 'Drugs are my passion. And I know with this blow, we can make Philly the cocaine capital of the world.'
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With all the silly puns, comical plot twists, and unexpected Tarantino-esque violence, every prediction I had made about how this show would unfold was proven wrong – to my surprise and delight. You never know when a moment will become a poignant commentary on modern reality, or just a gag, and it is exactly this combination of the unknowable and relatable that kept my eyes glued to the TV and off my phone.
For a second screen viewer or an undistracted television purist, 'Deli Boys' is a masterclass in wielding attention. The layers involved to make a joke land provided enough for the TV gourmands yet ample opportunities for the distracted viewer to dip in and out, all while transforming ridiculous scenarios into conduits for human truths. And that artistry, one that neither blindly accepts nor rejects audience behavior, may very well be the best path forward for the future of streaming TV shows.
DELI BOYS
Starring: Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Alfie Fuller, Brian George. On Hulu.
Jazmin Aguilera can be reached at
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