Deli Boys, the Hulu crime comedy set in Philadelphia, won the inaugural AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) Storyteller Icon Award this past weekend at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation’s first Benefit Reception. Stars Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh accepted it days after the show’s second season arrived on May 28.
Then Shaikh turned his acceptance speech into a warning. Shows led by creators of color, he told the room, get judged on a short window of viewing data, and Deli Boys still has no third season on the books.
A Sold-Out Night at the Filter Club
The reception sold out. The Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation, the nonprofit better known as PAAFF, held its first-ever Benefit Reception at the Filter Club, and the headline honor went to the Hulu series. Deli Boys took the AANHPI Storyteller Icon Award, presented by Jes Vu, a PAAFF board member who also works with the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE, an advocacy group for Asian representation in Hollywood).
Ali and Shaikh accepted in person. Nydia Han of 6ABC News collected the separate Philadelphia Icon Award. Local comedian Tan Hoang hosted, jazz vocalist Tina Hashemi performed, and the foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2008 to back Asian and Pacific Islander filmmakers, used the night to lay out its year-round plans for youth education, filmmaker support, and community partnerships.
Set in Philadelphia and centered on Pakistani American characters, the series proves that AANHPI stories are not niche stories; they are American stories that deserve to be seen, championed, and remembered.
That was Joseph Carranza, creative director of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation, in remarks marking the award. Ali kept his own acceptance short and pointed it back at a room full of working creators. “We hope you watch and continue to support not just us, but all of you,” he said, asking the crowd to “take our little award and use that as motivation.”
Who Are Deli Boys’ Dar Brothers?
The premise is a Philadelphia story with a crime-family engine. Two wealthy Pakistani-American brothers, raised on privilege, are forced to take over their late father’s underground drug empire after his death. The dark comedy follows them as they process grief, learn where the family money actually came from, and figure out who in the Dar family they can trust.
It was created by Abdullah Saeed, a Temple University alum, and developed by Jenni Konner and Nora Silver, with Michelle Nader as showrunner. The series comes from 20th Television under Onyx Collective, Disney’s content brand for creators of color. The cast grew for the new season, which you can see in Hulu’s second-season cast announcement.
| Actor | Character | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Asif Ali | Mir Dar | One of the two brothers; written as a Drexel University alumnus |
| Saagar Shaikh | Raj Dar | The other brother, seeking revenge in season two |
| Poorna Jagannathan | Lucky | Family fixer at the center of the empire |
| Fred Armisen | Max Sugar | New season-two role, a casino king and money launderer |
Season two also folds in guest turns from Kumail Nanjiani, Andrew Rannells, Lilly Singh, Robin Thede, and Tan France. The whole thing reads as a love letter to Philadelphia, a city with one of the country’s fastest-growing AAPI populations, which is part of why the local film foundation claimed it.
Strong Reviews Have Not Guaranteed a Renewal
By the usual metrics, Deli Boys is a hit. The first season landed well with critics and pulled a real audience for a half-hour comedy with no built-in franchise. Hulu moved fast on a renewal, and the show is now in the middle of an aggressive Emmy campaign.
- No. 10: where season one debuted on the Reelgood cross-platform chart the week of its March 6, 2025 release, one of just two Hulu shows in that week’s top ten.
- 95%: the Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes from 21 critics, alongside an 82% audience score.
- 5 months: the gap from premiere to a green light, with Hulu’s second-season renewal confirmed in August 2025.
The awards push has been loud, too. Ali and Shaikh became the first two South Asian actors to share Disney’s celebrity cameo in the Broadway production of “Aladdin” on May 27, and Hulu ran a For Your Consideration event two days after the premiere. None of that is the same as a renewal order, which is the gap the cast was talking about in Philadelphia.
A Day on the Rocky Steps
Before the reception, the two stars spent a day playing tourist with the foundation. They shot content in front of City Hall, did the weather forecast at 6ABC’s Action News, and ran the “Rocky” steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They also stopped to talk with students at Drexel University, the school Ali’s character Mir is written to have attended.
The city stuff doubled as a thank-you to the place the show is built around. It also fit the message Shaikh kept returning to all night, that the audience and the industry crowd in the room had a job to do beyond clapping.
The Four-Week Window Saagar Shaikh Warned About
Shaikh used most of his speech to do the math out loud. “Let’s really, really support AAPI, Black, and Brown projects,” he told the crowd, before explaining why the timing of that support matters so much.
His point was about the streaming clock. “If you’re not watching these projects in the first four weeks that they come out, those numbers are the only numbers that matter,” he said. “If those numbers aren’t good enough, we’re not coming back for a Season 3.” He laid out the cost of falling short in plain terms: the next person who looks like them, walking in to pitch a show, gets told someone already got that shot.
Then he drew the comparison straight. “We have to be excellent. We have to work twice as hard to get half as far,” he said. “They can have half the numbers we do and still get Season 5 or Season 6. We are scrutinized so much harder, so we have to support each other ten times harder.”
That is the part the trophy does not fix. An executive producer has said season-three plans are in the works after the season-two finale’s cliffhanger, but no order has come. The first few weeks of season-two viewing will help decide whether one does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Deli Boys Been Renewed for Season 3?
Not officially. As of early June 2026, no third season has been ordered, though an executive producer has said plans are in the works following the season-two cliffhanger. The cast spent its Philadelphia speeches urging viewers to watch early because those first weeks of data drive renewal decisions.
Where Can You Watch Deli Boys Season 2?
In the United States it streams on Hulu, including through the Disney+ bundle, and internationally it sits on Disney+, per the platform’s Deli Boys season-two guide. Season two premiered on May 28, 2026.
What Is the AANHPI Storyteller Icon Award?
It is the inaugural honor the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation created for its first Benefit Reception, recognizing authentic, humorous storytelling that challenges expectations. Deli Boys was the first recipient, with stars Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh accepting.
Who Created Deli Boys and Where Is It Set?
Abdullah Saeed, a Temple University alum, created the series, which is set in Philadelphia. It was developed by Jenni Konner and Nora Silver, with Michelle Nader serving as showrunner, and produced by 20th Television under Disney’s Onyx Collective.
What Is Deli Boys About?
Two wealthy Pakistani-American brothers, Mir and Raj Dar, are forced to take over their late father’s secret drug empire after he dies. The dark comedy follows them as they handle grief, uncover where the family fortune came from, and decide who to trust.
