Hulu has canceled Deli Boys after two seasons, ending the Onyx Collective crime dramedy that starred Poorna Jagannathan alongside Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh. The decision closes the series after a run that helped define it as a rare South Asian-centered show on a major streamer.
The cancellation lands now because the show had already survived one close call. After Fred Armisen was cast in a series regular role, the series was renewed for a second season, then later cut loose anyway. That is why Jagannathan is being searched now: the actor was one of the show’s core three leads, and the end arrives while viewers are still following what comes next for her.
Deli Boys was created by Abdullah Saeed and followed Mir and Raj Dar, two pampered Pakistani American brothers who lose everything and confront their Baba’s secret life of crime. The series leaned on South Asian characters in front of the camera and, by the account given, in the creative mix behind it as well. Alongside Jagannathan, the cast expanded to include Andrew Rannells, Kumail Nanjiani, Lilly Singh, Robin Thede and Tan France.
Jagannathan’s role was part of what made the show stand out. She played Naveeda “Lucky,” Baba’s confidant and a crime boss auntie, and she has said Lucky let her do things on screen she had never been able to do before. In her description, the character carried masculinity, fieriness and physicalness, the kind of part South Asian women are not usually given, and the show let her act with a level of force that did not fit the familiar mold.
That is also why the cancellation feels less like a routine scheduling move than a blunt correction from Hulu. The network’s stated reason was ratings, but no viewership numbers were released, which leaves the decision impossible to measure from the outside. In simple terms, a renewal can follow a cast addition and still not guarantee enough audience lift to survive the next review cycle.
For Jagannathan, the next stop is already set. She will next be seen in HBO Max’s Lanterns, premiering August 16, giving her a new role as Deli Boys disappears from Hulu’s slate. The series is over, but the kind of character she played in Lucky is the kind that tends to travel with an actor longer than the show itself.
