South Asian Comedy ‘Deli Boys’ and Sly Stone Documentary ‘Sly Lives (aka The Burden of Black Genius)’ Coming from Onyx Collective

Onyx Collective, the premium content brand under Disney Entertainment Television that focuses on curating stories from creators of color and underrepresented voices, announced the premiere dates for two of its upcoming titles in 2025. First, the original documentary SLY LIVES (aka The Burden of Black Genius) by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, is set to release February 13, 2025. Second, an original scripted comedy series about a South Asian family, Deli Boys, is premiering March 6, 2025. Both titles will release on Hulu.

Deli Boys follows two Pakistani American brothers who are living the good life when their father, a convenience store magnate, passes away. Suddenly, they find that their father had a secret criminal life that they must grapple with or lose everything.

Deli Boys is a half-hour, 10-episode series starring Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Alfie Fuller and Brian George. The series was created by Abdullah Saeed and developed by Jenni Konner and Nora Silver under Jenni Konner Productions. The series showrunner is Michelle Nader, who is an executive producer alongside Saeed, Konner and Silver. Nisha Ganatra is executive producer and director on the pilot, with Vali Chandrasekaran also serving as executive producer on the pilot.

The series is interesting because there is a dearth of South Asian American stories in Hollywood. Countless people don’t even realize that Pakistani Americans are Asian Americans. A series like Deli Boys is a much needed way to share more of Pakistani American culture in an exciting and intriguing setting that anyone should be able to enjoy.

Check out some first-look photos from the series:

SLY LIVES (aka The Burden of Black Genius), is Questlove’s sophomore directing effort, following his award-winning feature documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). If this documentary is anything like the first, it should shed a light on important and under-appreciated historical and social elements.

The documentary examines the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone. The film captures the band’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.  

Check out the teaser trailer below.

####

ONYX COLLECTIVE PRESENTS WINTER PREMIERE DATES AND FIRST LOOKS FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM ‘SLY LIVES! (AKA THE BURDEN OF BLACK GENIUS)’ AND NEW COMEDY SERIES ‘DELI BOYS’

Original Documentary ‘SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)’ To Premiere Thursday, Feb. 13, on Hulu; Directed by Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson, Guests featured Include Andre 3000, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rogers, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, George Clinton, Ruth Copeland and Clive Davis

Original Scripted Comedy ‘Deli Boys’ To Premiere Thursday, March 6, on Hulu; Starring Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Alfie Fuller and Brian George, From 20th Television

(BURBANK, Calif. – Dec. 20, 2024) Onyx Collective announces the winter 2025 programming slate for the highly anticipated documentary film “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” and the half-hour comedy series “Deli Boys” from 20th Television.

• Original Documentary “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” premieres Thursday, Feb. 13, on Hulu.
  • From the creatives behind Onyx Collective’s Academy^®, BAFTA and Independent Spirit Award-winning documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, producer Joseph Patel and editor Josh Pearson.
  • The film features notable guests such as Andre 3000, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rogers, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, George Clinton, Ruth Copeland and Clive Davis. 
  • Additional guests include those closest to Sly, including his band members Jerry Martini, Greg Errico, Larry Graham and Cynthia Robinson and family Sylvette Phunne Robinson, Novena Carmel and Sylvester Stewart Jr., who offer the best insights into Sly’s life by sharing anecdotes from their time together.
  • “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” examines the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone. The film captures the band’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.  
  • The film hails from MRC, Network Entertainment Inc., Two One Five Entertainment Inc., RadicalMedia, Stardust Films LLC and ID8 Multimedia, Inc., in association with Sony Music Entertainment.
  • The film is produced by Joseph Patel and Derik Murray (Network Entertainment Inc.) and directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Two One Five Entertainment Inc.).
  • Executive producers are Amit Dey, Brian Gersh (Network Entertainment Inc.), Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Two One Five Entertainment Inc.), Shawn Gee (Two One Five Entertainment Inc.), Zarah Zohlman (Two One Five Entertainment Inc.), Common (Stardust Films LLC), Derek Dudley (ID8 Multimedia, Inc.), Shelby Stone (ID8 Multimedia, Inc.), Ron Weisner, Paul Gertz (Network Entertainment Inc.), Kent Wingerak (Network Entertainment Inc.), Ali Pejman (Network Entertainment Inc.),  Jon Kamen (RadicalMedia) and Dave Sirulnick (RadicalMedia). 
  • As previously announced, “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” has been officially selected to debut its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
• Original Scripted Comedy “Deli Boys” premieres Thursday, March 6, on Hulu. 
  • When their convenience store-magnate father suddenly dies, a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba’s secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld.
  • The series stars Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, Poorna Jagannathan, Alfie Fuller and Brian George.
  • The half-hour, 10-episode series was created by Abdullah Saeed and developed by Jenni Konner and Nora Silver under Jenni Konner Productions. Michelle Nader, who also serves as showrunner, is an executive producer alongside Saeed, Konner and Silver. Nisha Ganatra is executive producer and director on the pilot, with Vali Chandrasekaran also serving as executive producer on the pilot.

ABOUT ONYX COLLECTIVE

Onyx Collective is a premium content brand under Disney Entertainment Television, with programming exclusively available to stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally. Onyx Collective curates globally entertaining stories by creators of color and underrepresented voices, all with a culturally specific point of view, including Oscar^®-winning documentary film “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Emmy^® Award-nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary “Aftershock,” Emmy Award-winning docuseries “The 1619 Project,” “Reasonable Doubt,” “Black Twitter: A People’s History,” “How to Die Alone,” “Queenie,” and the upcoming series “Deli Boys” and documentary “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius).”

The brand’s roster of prolific creators also includes Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media (“Black Panther,” “Judas and the Black Messiah”); Manolo Caro (“The House of Flowers”) and Woo Films; Destin Daniel Cretton (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) and his production company, Hisako; Jason Kim (“Barry,” “KPOP”); Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Joseph Patel (“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”); Prentice Penny’s Penny for Your Thoughts; Natasha Rothwell (“Insecure,” “SNL”); Yara Shahidi with her production company, 7th Sun Productions; and Erika Green Swafford and her production company, Chocolate Girl Wonder.