Interview: The Cast of ‘Deli Boys’ Talk About Season 2

The boys are back! The Deli Boys, that is.

The hit series returns for a second season and is raising the stakes in every imaginable way. Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj Dar (Saagar Shaikh) have fully stepped into their roles running their father’s empire alongside Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan). They slip into a comfortable groove, as Mir seeks expansion opportunities and Raj seeks revenge. Of course,with more money comes more problems added to the chaotic mix.

“I feel like for me it was a lot of like hey, we already established the foundation of the show, so to get into Season 2 and be at a sprint right from the rip was kind of the idea and I feel like it does feel like that,” says Ali about the goals for Season 2.

“I really wanted us to be quicker and the characters to be a lot more confident than they were in Season 1….” Shaikh adds. “They’ve got this air to them. ‘I know what I’m doing.’ Even though they might not know exactly what they’re doing, they’re still a little dumb, but they wear it well.”

As DarCo’s dirty money begins to attract unwanted attention, they seek out the help of Max Sugar (Fred Armisen), a casino titan and money launderer, to help move the money quietly. Unexpectedly, Max and Lucky stumble into a situationship, putting these intimidating entities into unfamiliar territory.

“These larger-than-life characters who wielded so much power for so long suddenly they meet their match and they become like teenagers and unsure and insecure,” Jagannathan says about the relationship. “Max and Lucky have two different kinds of powers. Lucky looks up to this man who doesn’t get his hands dirty and has all his minions do all his work for him. She digs that about Max.”

“I think if people are starting to date each other, there’s like a vulnerability there,” says Armisen. “Even criminals get into that zone.”

Also joining the chaos is Andrew Rannells as Andrew Chadwater, the D.A. with his eyes set on the mayoral seat and DarCo.

“Jenni Konner and Michelle Nader who are the showrunners, gave me a little bit of info about him before we got started and then as the scripts started coming in it just became very clear he’s going to be slightly unhinged…. ” Rannells says. “It reminded me a lot of what I got to do in The Book of Mormon honestly. If Elder Price stayed the course and grew up Mormon and uptight what would he be like? So that was kind of my jumping off point was like just playing that Type-A personality who can’t quite keep it all together.”

You can watch all six episodes of Deli Boys Season 2 on Hulu starting May 28th. Be sure to check out our team’s reviews with Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Fred Armisen, and Andrew Rannells.