Just when the Dar family thought they had it all—a casino, a golf course, and a mayor in their pocket—a mysterious pie and a note from the “eldest Dar” shatters their victory. The Season 2 finale of Hulu’s Deli Boys ends on a cliffhanger that could completely upend the family dynamic. Showrunner Michelle Nader tells us, “We’ve been dancing around this idea of their dad having this other family. I will say that I don’t know where it’s going, but I know that it’s going to be dark.”
The season’s six episodes were a rollercoaster of laughs and chaos, as Mir (Asif Ali), Raj (Saagar Shaikh), and Lucky Auntie (Poorna Jagannathan) expanded their criminal empire. But the finale’s twist—that Baba had another child, and Lucky may have known all along—sets up a potentially devastating Season 3. “It’s clear based on Lucky’s face when I read the eldest Dar, that she knew,” Shaikh says. “This would be the second major betrayal” after the Prairie reveal.
Who Is the Eldest Dar?
The identity of the eldest Dar remains a mystery, but the cast has theories. Ali imagines the sibling could be “the type of kid that Lucky Auntie would have wanted to work with”—capable, reliable, and ruthless. In other words, the anti-Mir and Raj. Jagannathan hints that Lucky’s secret might be even darker: “Clearly Lucky knows something that the boys don’t know, or probably no one knows except Baba and Lucky.” She floats the possibility that Baba had “an even more criminal second family somewhere.”
For Nader, the reveal wasn’t a last-minute gimmick but a long-simmering idea from Season 1. The writers had been circling the concept of Baba having another family, and the “eldest Dar” note felt like the sharpest way to blow the family open. The fallout could be massive, especially if Lucky’s betrayal runs deeper than the boys realize.
Season 3: Darker, Bigger, and Possibly International
With the Dars now owning a golf course, having Mayor Chadwater (Andrew Rannells) in their pocket, and Max Sugar (Fred Armisen) in jail, the family has everything Baba wanted. But keeping it may be the real challenge. “The more you have, the more enemies you have,” Shaikh says. “So now it’s about survival.”
Ali sees Mir’s arc heading toward becoming Baba himself. “His whole goal is, ‘I’m going to follow through on exactly what Baba wants,’” he says. “But now that you have everything you ever wanted, what do you do now?” That question could lead the Dars beyond Philly. Nader reveals the creative team has “always toyed with the idea of going to Pakistan,” teasing that Season 3 might take the series international. “From a small deli, international,” she says, before joking that she keeps “manifesting” Sir Ben Kingsley into the series.
Meanwhile, Chadwater’s partnership with the Dars is anything but stable. Rannells imagines it’s “not great,” but who knows? The show’s blend of comedy and crime keeps fans guessing. For more on the twists that shaped this season, check out our breakdown of Spider-Noir’s finale and how other shows handle cliffhangers.
As the Dars brace for the eldest Dar’s arrival, one thing is clear: Season 3 will be darker, messier, and more emotionally loaded than ever. The family’s empire may be bigger, but so are the secrets threatening to tear it apart.
