Saturday Night Live is back and better than ever for, dare I say, its best season in a while. Season 50, is currently spicing up the 2024 TV schedulewith some pretty killer guest hosts,including Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, and John Mulaney to name a few. A good host can only get you so far, though, and the sketches have to be funny while also matching current events and trends. One such example is the viral success of the “Bridesmaids Speech” sketch, and one writer has shared the story behind how the character Domingo came to be.
For anyone curious on how iconic SNL sketches get written, Ceara Jane O’Sullivan has the answers. The comedian is enjoying her third season writing for the late night sketch comedy, and Domingo is just one of the many ridiculous ideas she’s worked on. She didn’t do it alone though, recently saying on her podcast Petty Crimes that it all started with a co-writer showing her a real video of bridesmaids singing Hamilton at a wedding.
To O’Sullivan, the best part of writing for SNL is how collaborative the process is, and she applied that idea when explaining Domingo's origins.
Sudi Green was like ‘Well should it be like a bunch of bridesmaids and they should be singing about what happened on the bachelorette trip?’ And then I was like, should it be to Espresso, maybe it’s about a guy and his name’s Domingo… Cause we were thinking Marcello will be the guy and like it’s just fun ‘cause we all just were saying yes to each other’s ideas and it went kinda mid at the table ‘cause the music cues were off but Ari just believed in it. Oh it was fun. It’s just fun when people enjoy things.
Everyone say thank you, Ari! The Wicked star saw the potential and thank goodness she did. It might have gone mid at the table read, but it absolutely exploded online post-show, mostly thanks to TikTok. Grande really was the best host for the job because her purposefully singing off-key was hilarious. Her episode overall spawned multiple viral characters, like Antonio, and I felt like the writers did a great job catering to both her singing and acting background.
In all honesty, the viral success of this sketch doesn’t surprise me given its main components: easily the catchiest hit song of the year “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, and Marcello Hernandez. The Dominican comedian has skyrocketed to fame in the past year thanks to SNL and his boyish charm, which the writers often utilize in the “Protective Mom” sketches. Give him a catchy tune with a funny spin to it, you’ve got a hit.
Seemed like the writers already had Marcello in mind while writing this skit, which is a lucky turn for him, considering it’s not always easy to grab writers' attention, according to other cast members. Though I’m sure neither O’Sullivan nor Hernandez realized how far the bit would go. Another sketch with Domingo based to the tune of “Hot To Go” by Chappell Roan? Sure, why not. Marcello as Domingo at a Sabrina Carpenter concert singing SNL’s silly rendition of “Espresso” directly to the popstar? Not even in their wildest dreams could they have predicted that.
Thankfully, the SNL regular seems to be along for the ride, which hopefully means we will get more of Domingo, and more pop stars singing off-key on purpose. The writers seem to be collecting the biggest hits of the year like infinity stones. If I had to guess, they might change up something from Brat next, especially given Charli XCX was just on the show. How far could they push this bit? Well, I would like to find out. Maybe next episode they're singing at the kids’ baptism, given we left off with Kelsey pregnant with twins.
Regardless of more Domingo sketches, the character clearly isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, this might be a career defining character for Hernandez, whether he likes it or not. The writers owe themselves a pat on the back for creating what will most likely go down as one of the most popular SNL sketches of this season. I don’t really know how they could top it, but I will be tuning in this week with my Peacock subscription to find out.
