Why Domingo Is the Character SNL Needed in the TikTok Age

It’s been a while since Saturday Night Live has had a moment quite like the moment it’s having with Marcello Hernández’s Domingo — which is to say, it’s been a while since a new original character has become so popular that he’s escaped the confines of Studio 8H into the real world. Yet that’s what just happened last weekend, where the return of Domingo in the Charli XCX-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live was followed up by Hernández appearing as Domingo at Sabrina Carpenter’s concert tour stop in Los Angeles.

In viral videos shared from Sunday’s concert, the audience could be heard losing its collective mind over Domingo’s appearance, especially as he riffs on lyrics from Carpenter’s “Bed Chem” by referring to himself as the guy with “the blue jacket and thick accent.” (We already knew Domingo knew the lyrics to Carpenter’s “Espresso.”)

It’s not shocking that Carpenter fans would be familiar with the character, though. The first Domingo sketch, featuring a deliberately terrible riff on the pop star’s “Espresso,” is currently the most-viewed video on SNL’s TikTok account with over 100 million views, eclipsing the second most popular video — a behind-the-scenes moment featuring Maya Rudolph and Vice-President Kamala Harris — by 55 million views. (And there are two other Domingo-related videos in the top 10.)

There’s a pretty clear reason for why Domingo has become so popular — because of the first sketch’s connection to an already zeitgeist-y song, it was tailor-made to capture the attention of the TikTok algorithm. Yet while the reason for his viral spread is very specific to 2024, the arrival of a new fan-favorite SNL character is a proud tradition going back decades.

Breakout recurring characters have always been a foundational part of the sketch comedy series from the beginning: In the 1970s, the Coneheads and the Nerds showed up on the regular; in the 1980s, there was Mr. Robinson and Gumby and even a few other characters not played by Eddie Murphy; in the 1990s, Wayne, Garth, Pat, and Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer were eventually succeeded by the Ladies’ Man, the Cheerleaders, and Mango.

During those decades, SNL was often critiqued for relying too much on recurring characters over fresh comic premises, but that’s not a complaint you hear too much these days. Perhaps that’s because like most long-running institutions, SNL changes based on its writing staff and cast, not to mention emerging trends. And loud splashy characters like Domingo haven’t been a big part of the show’s comedic vibe for a while, as it instead leans harder on game show parodies and absurdist pre-taped sketches spotlighting the cast as themselves.

These subgenres have been fruitful, from the joys of “Black Jeopardy” to the behind-the-scenes antics of Please Don’t Destroy, but aren’t necessarily built for breaking through on a mainstream level. Domingo represents the first original character to truly go viral since the days of Stefon, the Target Lady, Miss Rafferty the alien abductee, and even David S. Pumpkins.

It feels like we’re on the cusp of a change — though maybe not the obvious one. The Domingo sketches are notable for immediately landing on a format with a lot of clear structure: Kelsey (Chloe Fineman) and her hapless husband Matt (Andrew Dismukes) watching as “the Kels Squad” (Sarah Sherman, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, and the guest host) performs a popular new pop hit with “original” lyrics, which ultimately reveal that Kelsey has gotten very close with the mysterious Domingo.

The fact that SNL brought back Domingo for a second sketch after only a month doesn’t just speak to his popularity, but the unique opportunity provided by Charli XCX hosting. A key part of the bit seems to be the open slot for the fourth squad member, as so far the honor has gone to hosts who are also pop stars — which means that if the show announces that Olivia Rodrigo or Carpenter herself will be hosting in the not-too-distant future, it feels like even money that Domingo will return. (Maybe the first birthday party of Kelsey and Matt’s child? There’s already a time jump spanning months from “Bridesmaid Speech” to “Babymoon.”)

Even if SNL doesn’t find a way to bring Domingo back before the end of 2024, though, his online success marks a new arena for the show to explore — pop music-driven comedy meant to directly appeal to TikTok. As an institution, the show has always aimed to be in communication what its fans respond to; it’s why creator Lorne Michaels pushed for live studio audiences even during the height of the pandemic. Right now, the audience likes Domingo, so Domingo is here to stay… At least until he wears out his welcome. And that could be a while.