Poorna Jagannathan has been cast in “Deli Boys,” Abdullah Saeed’s comedy pilot for the onyx Collective on Hulu.
The series will follow a pair of pair of pampered Pakistani-American brothers named Mir (Asif Ali) and Raj Dar (Saagar Shaikh) who lose everything when their convenience-store magnate father suddenly dies. They and are forced to reckon with their Baba’s secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld. Alfie Fuller also stars.
Jagannathan will play Lucky, Baba’s right-hand woman. She can be very caring or a badass business boss lady, depending on what’s needed.
Jagannathan is best known for starring as Devi’s (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) mother Nalini in “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix and Nasir’s (Riz Ahmed) mother Safar in “The Night Of” on HBO. She has also played roles in “Defending Jacob” on Apple TV+, “The Act” and “Ramy” on Hulu and “Big Little Lies” on HBO. Up next, she’ll appear in the Netflix crime comedy film “The Out-Laws” opposite stars including Pierce Brosnan, Nina Dobrev and Richard Kind. Additionally, she will play Aza’s (Isabela Merced) therapist Dr. Singh in “Turtles All the Way Down,” HBO Max’s upcoming film adaptation of the John Green novel “Turtles All the Way Down,” directed by Hannah Marks.
She is repped by Gersh, Untitled and Melissa Fox at Hansen Jacobsen.
Saeed writes “Deli Boys” and executive produces alongside Nisha Ganatra, who serves as a director, as well as Jenni Konner, Vali Chandrasekaran and Nora Silver. 20th Television is the studio.
