Parents' Guide to Deli Boys

Violence & Scariness

A golf ball hits one of the characters in the temple, causing a comically large amount of blood to spew out of their head, killing them. A character shoots another character in the face, with blood spattering over other characters in the scene. Other scenes with guns, gun violence, and large amounts of blood and gore, partially for comedic purposes.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A character regularly takes copious amounts of drugs, including marijuana and hallucinogens. A character reveals that the family's money is made in laundering bricks of cocaine.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A scene with a character waking up from a drug-fueled orgy, with some characters clothed and others with at least their torsos exposed (a man is shirtless, women are in bras). A bloody victim escapes from the Dar brothers while wearing just his boxers.

Language

Swear words including "f--k," "f---ed," "s--t," and exclamatory use of "Oh my God" and "Jesus." Some words that could be considered ableist, such as "moron" and "stupid."

Products & Purchases

Levi's and Tastykake are mentioned.

Diverse Representations

The series showcases South Asian (particularly Pakistani) characters in a non-stereotypical light. Granted, the story is about crime, but the series features wealthy, self-made Pakistani characters who have agency over their lives and viewpoints. Other characters from the Asian diaspora, such as Vietnamese character Big Pho (Huy Ngyuen), are also featured in non-stereotypical ways. Baba's (Iqbal Theba) manservant Matthew (Jake Prizant) is a commentary on racial casting: the White character is subservient and emotionally irrational. His mindless devotion to Baba, plus Baba and Raj's comments about "White slaves," is reminiscent of how Black characters were cast in movies like Gone with the Wind as childlike, devoted servants to rich White characters.

The few female characters provide atypical portrayals of women. Prairie (Alfie Fuller), the hippie girlfriend of Raj (and Raj's dealer), is a character not traditionally cast as a Black woman. Lucky (Poorna Jagannathan) is a South Asian women who's the no-nonsense boss of the Dar criminal organization. Agent Mercer (Alexandra Ruddy) is the lead FBI agent over the Dar case with her FBI partner Bushra (Zainne Saleh). The two female agents togehter tackle the difficult and dangerous task of taking on a crime family.

Positive Messages

Two very different brothers trying to work together in the midst of grief. But the brothers are also working to keep their father's criminal enterprise afloat after his death.

Positive Role Models

Most of the characters are part of criminal organizations. Other characters, like Raj (Saagar Shaikh) are very focused on taking drugs and other substances. Raj is also very spoiled and focused exclusively on self-pleasure. But the two brothers do start learning more about the positives of brotherhood and do their best to uplift their family legacy, even if that means committing crimes.