Danny Jarabek
From her first read of Abdullah Saeed’s Deli Boys script, Michelle Nader knew she wanted to be a part of it. to the execution of the Philadelphia-set Hulu series, Nader shares how her personal ties to Philly shaped the show’s sense of place and tone.
In our interview, Nader reflects on the collaborative spirit behind the scenes, the intricacies of blending the show’s comedy with its unique crime storytelling, and what it meant to cast an ensemble that authentically fills out the world of Deli Boys. The conversation touches on Nader’s writing efforts for Episode 5 and the season finale, honoring Philly lore, and the unexpected brilliance of guest stars like Tan France—showcasing just how much love and specificity went into crafting this genre-bending crime comedy.
Read our full conversation with Deli Boys showrunner Michelle Nader
Hi, this is Danny Jarabek here with Awards Radar, and I’m very delighted to have with me today Michelle Nader, showrunner of the Hulu series Deli Boys. Michelle, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today.
Michelle: Hi! So happy to join you.
Absolutely. Congratulations on the show. I just got off with Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh—had a great time talking with them and congratulating them on their work in the series. I’m excited to hear your perspective. To start us off: What originally caught your eye about this material and the conversations you were having with Abdullah Saeed, the creator of the series?
Michelle: That moment came when I read the script—I just knew I had to be part of it. They were looking for a showrunner, and the way Abdullah described Philadelphia and the characters—it felt so vivid. And when I met the character of Lucky, I thought, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.” I didn’t write it, but I wished I had. I just wanted to be a part of it.
It really is such a unique mashup. The way Asif and Saagar described it to me was as a Venn diagram—crime drama, South Asian families, and Philly. All of these elements coexisting in a story feels totally fresh. You’ve worked in comedy for years. What was it about this comedy that felt different to you?
Michelle: I think it’s because so much of comedy now isn’t as funny as it used to be. But this script was truly laugh-out-loud funny. At the same time, it had a really strong plot and incredibly realized characters. Often, when comedies have a lot of plot, the humor gets weighed down. But this one managed to do both. I hope we got that equation right.
You also mentioned the Philadelphia aspect. I actually live in Philly, so I really got all those references. What was your connection to the city, and how did you want to embrace that in the show?
Michelle: I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I went to Penn, and I lived there for a long time. People joke—based on truth—that I was kind of like Lucky. I knew that world. I was involved in the South Philly mob scene with the Italians, who are very similar to Pakistanis in some ways. I grew up around gangsters, so it all felt very familiar. But beyond the gangster part, I loved including Philly touchstones—Frank Rizzo, pretzels—it’s such a specific place. I don’t think many shows get it right. It’s Always Sunny does, but it’s so whitened. We were trying to capture Philly’s weirdness, its darkness, and also how much you love it.
I just had a soft pretzel and a water ice earlier today—peak Philly experience. It feels like Philly is having a moment with Abbott Elementary, Deli Boys, and of course It’s Always Sunny. You also mentioned wanting to represent Philly in a way that isn’t so white because Philly is quite diverse as a city. This show brings in South Asian culture and other communities in a really rich way. Can you talk about that?
Michelle: Totally. As you know from living in Philly, it’s incredibly multicultural—especially South Philly. I grew up around all kinds of ethnicities. People think of Italians and Irish when they hear South Philly, but there’s also Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Jewish communities—it’s a real melting pot. That made it make sense for Abdullah, who also went to Temple, to set the show there. There’s an episode where the characters go to Chickie’s house, and you see gangsters from all different countries. That’s Philly. Of course New York has that, too, but Philly does it in its own way. Everyone has their little crews, and we wanted to capture that.
That episode was one of my favorites—so much Philly lore, so many groups converging. What was it like writing that one?
Michelle: Abdullah and I wrote that episode, and it was a personal favorite. Honestly, no one outside of Philly cares about Frank Rizzo, but we were like, “We’re doing it anyway.” It was important to us to show this world, these inside jokes. Everyone has their own version of a Frank Rizzo character—a lonesome, loud presence. We really wanted to tap into that. Now I’m turning the tables—do you think we made Chicago look like Philly as much as we could? I think we did the best we could,
It looks great!
Michelle: Thank you! I kept telling the location people, “No trees! There can be no trees here!” And for Chickie’s house, I was imagining Broad and Wharton or Reed. I had such a specific vision of how the Chicago locations should mirror Philly.
That’s wild. I actually lived on Broad and Wharton for two years—that’s such a specific callout.
Michelle: See? We were trying to recreate the experience people really have there. I think we got it right.
One of the things that really stood out to me was the collaborative energy on the show. When I spoke to Asif and Saagar, they couldn’t stop talking about how special it was. What was your perspective on that collaboration?
Michelle: We’re a family. Literally—Saagar’s wife is a photographer, and she was on set. We all love each other, and I think that shows. Like when Poorna [Jagannathan] won the Gotham Award the other night, everyone was so genuinely supportive. There’s no competition. It’s just love—lifting each other up. That energy was true with the writers and producers, too. Everyone involved loves this project and wants to keep working together—not just because of the work, but because of each other.
You co-wrote Episode Five and the finale. What was that process like, writing with Abdullah and the team?
Michelle: Abdullah and I finish each other’s jokes at this point. We make each other laugh constantly—he has the best, most infectious laugh. When we were writing the finale, we were so tired, and he said something totally offhand, as a joke. I was like, “That’s brilliant—it’s going in.” All the writers brought something special. I called it our Ocean’s Eleven staff—everyone had their specialty, and it made the world feel fuller and the characters more dimensional.
You’ve got such a strong ensemble— Poorna, Asif, Saagar—but also a ton of guest stars who fit seamlessly into the world. How did you approach casting those roles?
Michelle: Well, Allie [Alexandra] Ruddy—she was a guest in the pilot but might as well be part of the core cast. We recast her partner and brought in Tim Baltz, who you might know from The Righteous Gemstones—he’s Edi Patterson’s husband. We thought, “If we can get that guy as the FBI director opposite Allie, that’s gold.” It brought a perfect comedic energy to the FBI, who are kind of the villains here. Then people just started coming in. When we got Tan France, we were like, “Are you kidding me?” And he totally became a Deli Boy—part of the team. Hopefully he’ll return. He was shockingly brilliant. I couldn’t believe how good he was in his first scene—it was a violent one, and he was in a suit. I walked over and said, “Oh my god, I can’t believe you can act like this.” And he was like, “Really?” He’s so humble.
Michelle, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciated getting a behind-the-scenes look at the series. It was a blast to watch, and I truly hope we get more of it soon. Congratulations on everything!
Michelle: Thank you! Get a water ice for me, please.
Will do. Take care!
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