Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh play brothers in the Onyx Collective comedy series “Deli Boys,” much to Shaikh’s relief. Speaking with Variety, Shaikh noted that he often found himself losing roles to Ali over the years given the lack of opportunities for South Asian actors in Hollywood.

“Usually when I audition for something, they there’s only one brown character,” Shaikh said. When Shaikh became aware of the “Deli Boys” pilot script, he auditioned for the role of Mir Dar. But then his reps broke some familiar news.

“I was waiting anxiously by the phone, and when I got the call,...