‘Saturday Night Live’ celebrates 50 years of comedy
Live from New York, it’s the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live.”
- Marcello Hernández has been a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” since 2022.
- The Miami, Florida, native played soccer at John Carroll University in University Heights, a college town less than 10 miles outside of Cleveland, before graduating in 2019.
- The 27-year-old comedian got his start in stand up by performing at dive bars, small clubs and poetry slam rooms across Cleveland before hitting it big at “SNL.”
A “Saturday Night Live” star with ties to Northeast Ohio will soon have his own comedy special on Netflix, and he made sure to acknowledge his beginnings in the Buckeye state in the announcement.
Marcello Hernández, who joined the “SNL” cast ahead of its 2022 season, shared Dec. 8 on Instagram that his first Netflix special, titled “American Boy,” would hit the streaming giant Jan. 7.
“I started comedy at 18 in Cleveland, Ohio at dive bars, small clubs, and poetry slam rooms. 10 years later, stand up has given me everything,” the 27-year-old wrote. “If you’ve ever been to a show, put me on a show, given me advice, or supported me in any way, THANK YOU.”
Marcello Hernández’s time at John Carroll, start in comedy
Before hitting it big at “SNL,” Hernández, a native of Miami, Florida, played soccer for John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, graduating in 2019. While he was a student, he hosted shows on campus, performed at open mic nights across Cleveland and interned at Hilarities East 4th Street Theatre where he had the chance to work behind the scenes and gain access to comics up close so he could see what life in the profession was really like.
Hernández even created a scholarship at his alma mater, which was announced in May, where he will personally mentor one senior student a year who is interested in a career in comedy, entertainment or content creation.
Marcello Hernández’s breakout at ‘Saturday Night Live’
When Hernández joined the “SNL” cast three years ago, he was the first Gen Z member to do so. He’d already seemed to connect with audiences, but it was a sketch dubbed “Domingo” that really became a hit.
It originally aired in October 2024 when Ariana Grande was the celebrity guest host and musical guest.
Grande played a bridesmaid and gave a speech to the bride and groom played by Chloe Fineman and Andrew Dismukes, respectively. The bridesmaids sang an intentionally off-key rendition of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit song, “Espresso” detailing a steamy night between the bride and a stranger, Hernández’s Domingo, at her bachelorette party. The skit took off online and was reimagined three more times on the show.
Charli XCX parodied Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” when she hosted in November 2024, but the setting changed to a baby shower. Then for the show’s special 50th anniversary episode, the bride and groom were renewing their wedding vows and bridesmaids sang “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.” Carpenter herself was leading the pack when Domingo as well as his brothers Ronaldo and Santiago, played by Pedro Pascal and Bad Bunny respectively, joined in.
Lastly, the show reprised the role a third time when Carpenter pulled double duty as host and musical guest in October 2025. She led offkey renditions of Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” alongside Sarah Sherman, Ashley Padilla and Veronika Slowikowska who play Fineman’s friends.
The parody makes it clear that Fineman’s character had spent the night with Domingo.
USA TODAY and the Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.
