The new Amazon Prime series The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh is now available for streaming — and there is a lot to look forward to from the family-friendly show.
Inspired by the real-life story of Black-ish executive producer Vijal Patel, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh is about a family of five who have recently moved from India to the United States.
WATCH: The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh on Amazon Prime Video
Patel told Screen Rant that the show was a long time coming. “The first thing I ever said is, ‘I want to make a funny show, then I want to make a funny show about Indians,” he explained. “Now, ‘I want to make a funny show about Indians that’s loosely based off my family,’ and that’s because I love connecting.”
“The reason I said funny first is because I love connecting through humor, through comedy. I feel really blessed to be able to do this show and to tell the Indian immigrant story, the Indian-American immigrant story. I have such a deep reservoir of stories and comedy to share with the world,” Patel added.
At the heart of the series is the five cast members who play the Pradeep family — read on to get to know Naveen Andrews, Sindhu Vee, Sahana Srinivasan, Arjun Sriram, and Ashwin Sakthivel.
Who plays the Pradeep family in The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh?
Naveen Andrews as Mahesh Pradeep
Lost star Andrews heads the Pradeep family as patriarch Mahesh. The British-American actor is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah on the series. Andrews played Sayid from 2004 to 2010.
Andrews told Screen Rant that the opportunity to play Mahesh was a unique one. He said, “Mahesh is a character that I’ve never, ever had to play before, you know, not even in theatre. I’ve never played anyone so relentlessly optimistic, who genuinely believes that he and his family will somehow prevail, just with goodwill and love. There’s no rancor or bitterness or aggression. That’s what made it unique for me.”
Sindhu Vee as Sudha Pradeep
Sindhu Venkatanarayanan is a British stand-up comedian who performs under the name Sindhu Vee. Prior to beginning her comedy career in 2012 she worked in banking. She began acting in 2020 when she joined the Netflix series Sex Education as Olivia’s mother.
Vee told Nerds of Color that she feels her character Sudha is a modern mom. She explains, “[Sudha] swears in Hindi, and she’s quite upfront about certain things with her spouse and children. I recognize her. I think a lot of people from the subcontinent will recognize in Sudha who they are today because these people are very Indian in their own way.”
Sahana Srinivasan as Bhanu Pradeep
Srinivasan is an actor and comedian from Texas who is best known as a host on Brainchild. Srinivasan also had roles on Insecure and Fear the Walking Dead.
Srinivasan told Screen Rant the “Pradeep” cast became close while filming, especially because it was “so cold” in Toronto. “We weren’t really motivated to go places, so we would just hang out at the hotel together. We’d have pizza night and just hang out and gab,” she said. “And there’s this one photo, it’s an overhead photo that a castmate took of me and Sindhu and Arjun and Ashwin, where it really does look like a family hanging out. Ashwin’s playing video games or something and I’m laughing and Arjun’s also in the back. It’s so cute.”
Arjun Sriram as Kamal Pradeep
Sriram began acting in 2019’s Killer Therapy, and The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh is the sixth credit to his name.
Ashwin Sakthivel as Vinod Pradeep
Sakthivel began acting at age 10 and has since voiced Mo in 8 episodes of the animated children’s show Pip and Posy.
Who else is in the cast of The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh?
The cast also includes Ethan Suplee as the Pradeeps’ neighbor Jimbo, and Megan Hilty as his wife Janice. Additional cast members are Beatrice Schneider, Romy Rosemont, Romy Weltman, Callum Shoniker, Zachary Rayment, John Tench, Brennan Clost, Angela Besharah, Lindsay Leese, and Valerie Boyle.
