Review by C.J. Bunce

An endearing crime show?  Is that a thing?  Maybe it is after watching Deli Boys, a crime comedy that takes the traditional mob formula and filters it through the eyes of Pakistani American brothers in Philadelphia who learn their father was the head of a crime empire.  If you liked Netflix’s The Brothers Sun, you might like this fast-paced, ten half-hour episode ride.  The Brothers Dar?  Pop music and clever edits introduce straight arrow Mir (Asif Ali) and playboy Raj (Saagar Shaikh), whose father Arshad “Baba” Dar (played by the ubiquitous Iqbal Theba) is killed by a golf ball to the head.  But was it murder?  When the brothers’ aunt Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan) arrives and forces them to take over the family business, they find themselves running the ABC Deli–a front.  The result includes a quirky, fun show with one of the best weddings you may ever watch on television.

Ali plays Mir as one uptight guy.  And he has an equally serious fiance in Zainne Saleh’s Bushra, a woman he clearly loves but maybe not enough not to ignore her when his world involves blood and guts and dead bodies.  And cocaine smuggled in achar, stinky mango pickle jars nobody would surely look into.  Raj is more like Rahul Kohli in iZombie–likeable if not loveable, and daft like Kelso on That ’70s Show.  

But it’s badass Lucky who makes this show work.  Jagannathan owns the screen in every scene as the brains behind the crime world.  Like Ma Sun in The Brothers Sun, she’s stuck maneuvering in a world dominated by men, full well knowing she could run circles around them all.  She’s smart, confident, and the ultimate mastermind, ultimately getting to the bottom of what happened to Dar while keeping the crime family intact.  She does that while sparring frequently with adversary Ahmad, played by Brian George, the familiar British actor famous for decades for roles like this.

Unlike other half-hour series, this show makes room for layers and lots of supporting roles.  Community’s Kevin Corrigan is superb as Chickie Lozano, a recurring Italian American crime kingpin.  But the really big win is Amita Rao as Nandika, a cosplayer from a messed up family who likes Raj.  She and Raj make for the perfect American modern couple.  Their wedding vows reflect a writers room that has a pulse on 2020s relationships and humor.

Watch for legendary funny man Chris Elliott as Sergeant Testicola and Jake Prizant as Matthew, the token white guy and loyal lieutenant to Baba Dar in the vein of Robert Duvall in The Godfather.

Is creator Abdullah Saeed on his way to becoming the Pakistani American Spike Lee?  You might agree the series has something in common–surprisingly–with Derry Girls as an ethnic comedy of laughs that also echoes reality with a light touch.  As with the Ms. Marvel series, this is a fun and revealing look into Pakistani American culture via wacky humor.  Wendy Wang’s clever use of musical motifs and Cailey Breneman and Jennifer Rogien’s costumes are a cut above the typical TV series.

It will make you want to run to the closest Pakora Palace for some chicken tikka.  Don’t miss Deli Boys, now streaming on Hulu.