Poorna Jagannathan on Bringing ‘Deli Boys’’ Fabulously Mean, Mugler-Wearing Lucky Back for Season 2

Reported by Vogue.

If you haven't been watching Deli Boys on Hulu, Lucky Auntie would like a word. The Abdullah Saeed crime comedy — which follows two Pakistani-American brothers fumbling their way through their late father's syndicate — returned for Season 2 with its irreverence fully intact. But it's Poorna Jagannathan who continues to outrun everyone else onscreen, playing the brothers' ruthless, impeccably dressed associate with the kind of controlled menace that makes you root for the villain unconditionally.

Shoulders, Silhouettes, and a Woman Who Has Probably Killed Everyone She Doesn't Get Along With

According to Vogue, Season 2 cracks Lucky open — slightly — by giving her a love interest in fellow crime boss Max Sugar, played by Fred Armisen. The relationship forces a woman who has presumably eliminated every inconvenient person in her orbit to attempt something far more terrifying: vulnerability. Therapy gets involved. So does power envy. Jagannathan explains that watching Armisen's character delegate all the dirty work while maintaining total authority unlocked something for Lucky — "a world that is super appealing and sexy to her." The dynamic is less softening and more revealing. Lucky doesn't become warmer; she just becomes more legible.

Preparing for onscreen intimacy with Armisen meant skipping the small talk entirely. The two did what Jagannathan describes as one of the most intense rehearsals of her career — heavy on movement, dancing, and shared space, light on actual conversation. It worked. By day one of filming, the chemistry was already there. As for working opposite a comedic legend? Jagannathan says Armisen taught her something by doing almost nothing: "He just doesn't chase the joke. He lets the joke come to him." Noted.

Then there's the wardrobe, which deserves its own billing. Costume designer Cailey Breneman built Season 2's Lucky around a mood board of '90s supermodels and Bollywood icons — strong shoulders, architectural silhouettes, and a lot of red. A Stella McCartney suit required shoulder pad surgery to stay in the realm of plausibility. Indian label 431-88 constructed the custom suit featured in the season's poster. And the standout? A red Mugler that was held back from Season 1 until the character — and the show — had fully found itself. "We built on the shoulders of Season 1," Jagannathan said, "and we just added pads."

Jagannathan admits she was waiting her whole career for a character with Lucky's sensibility. The silhouettes she'd never worn before are now, in her words, permanent. Fashion does that — the right costume doesn't just dress a character, it rewires the actor wearing it.

When a show gets the clothes right, it gets everything right.

Read the original at Vogue.