Consider this: ‘Deli Boys' star Asif Ali deserves to bring some South Asian flavor to the Comedy Supporting Actor Emmy race

Yahoo

16-05-2025

It's Emmy season again, which means we'll see a bunch of new shows and breakthrough performers jostling for attention alongside returning Emmy favorites in the crowd of prestige television and streaming content. Chief among this season's freshman class is Deli Boys, starring actor-comedian Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh (Ms. Marvel), and Poorna Jaganathan (Never Have I Ever).
In Hulu's dark comedy series — or as showrunner Michelle Nader calls it, a 'crimedy' — focusing on a Pakistani American family, Ali plays Mir, who, along with brother Raj (Shaikh), is thrown into the criminal underworld after discovering his late father's deli empire was a front for drug-trafficking. The series helps redefine the typical stereotypes and gives South Asian and American Muslim actors an opportunity to play roles with depth, outside the common cab driver, terrorist, or doctor roles. According to Ali, the show deviates from the "model minority" stereotype, offering a more nuanced representation of South Asian characters on television. The actor's compelling performance captures Mir's transformation from dutiful son to a reluctant participant in crime, deftly switching between comedic and dramatic moments with finesse.​
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Ali is being submitted for Best Comedy Supporting Actor, with Shaikh as Best Comedy Actor, and Jaganathan for Best Comedy Supporting Actress.
According to Gold Derby's odds in that race, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) and Harrison Ford (Shrinking) are out in front with the best odds, with a bunch of contenders jockeying for the remaining five spots. Based on recent history, we often see fresh faces in this category, like Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso) in 2022 and Lionel Boyce (The Bear) in 2024. Ali has risen seven slots in the Gold Derby odds over the past month, but still sits on the outside at No. 33 overall.
But with Deli Boys' critical and commercial success, his standout performance deserves voters' attention.
Hulu
Ali, who was named one of Variety's Top 10 Comedians to Watch last year, brings his comedic timing to the character seamlessly. And while he has played several characters, from Don't Worry Darling to Marvel's WandaVision before, this is where we should give him his flowers as he really made Mir his own. His comedic background is evident in his role of Mir Dar where he brings his natural flair for humor to the type-A character of Mir. Ali initially auditioned for the role of Raj, since he felt more like him in real life, but playing Mir let him tap into someone with bottled-up energy and a lot going on under the surface. Ali's work represents understanding of timing, tone, and emotional nuance. He delivers a quick witted joke in one moment, and then reveals the deeper emotional layers of Mir in a subtle way, in the next.
The series is a hit with critics, with Collider's Tania Hussain highlighting the show's "colorfully grounded performances" and "sharp, focused story and humor" and noting that Ali and Shaikh "slip into the sibling dynamic perfectly while bringing depth and dimension to their shared goofball adventures." Laura Zornosa of the Los Angeles Times emphasized how Deli Boys "flips the script" on traditional South Asian stereotypes. It is something that Ali is deeply proud of, telling the newspaper that the Deli Boys team "made something that pushes us forward ... expanding the bounds of what people that look like us can be in.' The show has a 96 percent 'fresh' rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Ali's ability to balance humor with the complexities of identity and familial expectations has clearly resonated. Per The Hollywood Reporter review, 'Ali is cast well enough as the uptight half, and Shaikh is oddly endearing as the type of dude who unironically describes his role as being 'the vibes guy.'' Time, meanwhile, notes, 'Charismatic slacker Raj and uptight striver Mir aren't just foils for each other; their mutual love is unmistakable, which gives weight to the looming prospect that the stress of salvaging Baba's empire could tear them apart.'
Ali offers a fresh perspective on the immigrant experience, blending cultural specificity with universal themes. The show is littered with moments like one of the highlights when Mir is dealing with the inner battle of finding his individuality to make his father proud as he tries to navigate an unexpected FBI raid at the company after his father's death. There are moments with his brother Raj, where he is trying to understand the workings of it all, but trying to be a "good person" or dealing with the fact that the love of his life is leaves him.
Can Ali bag a nomination? It's a possibility, if voters see the show — and it would end the dry spell since 2021, when the TV Academy last nominated a South Asian man in Best Comedy Supporting Actor, Aziz Ansari for Master of None. Ali's ability to shift between tension and humor, without breaking the flow of the character speaks to his skill-not only as a comedian, but as a versatile actor who understands the emotional beats of a scene and knows exactly when to lean in or pull back. As he's able to broaden the scope of his roles, a nomination could be a redefining moment in his career.
Deli Boys is streaming on Hulu.
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