Marcello Hernández
Episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler · October 6, 2026 · 1 h 16 min
Amy Poehler talks with SNL cast member Marcello Hernández about his Miami upbringing, college soccer, stand-up, SNL, Spanish-language comedy, and accepting compliments, after a preview from Sarah Sherman.
Summary
The episode opened with host Amy Poehler speaking to SNL cast member Sarah Sherman, who described Marcello Hernández as a fun, generous, athletic team player who encourages fellow comedians to get on stage. Sherman supplied three questions: what his deal is, why he does not answer texts, and when and how he writes his well-crafted stand-up jokes.
Hernández arrived with sunflowers as an apology for being slow to answer Poehler's text. He discussed growing up in Miami in a female-dominated, half-Cuban, half-Dominican family; his parents' efforts to tire out an energetic child through baseball and then soccer; his mother's embrace of American identity after leaving communist Cuba; and playing college soccer at John Carroll University in Ohio. He recounted winning a high school monologue competition, the teachers who encouraged him, and founding the Bo and Tom Scholarship in honor of two former instructors. He described quitting the soccer team to pursue stand-up, his nervous Just for Laughs set, and his SNL audition.
The conversation covered his success with the recurring sketch Domingo, which he credited largely to Ariana Grande and the writers, his habit of performing at maximum intensity out of fear, and his growing Spanish-language stand-up, which he said offers Latino audiences a refreshing American-style observational format. Answering Sherman's questions, he attributed his blunt teasing to a family that never let him be soft, and said he does not see himself as a great writer and planned to take a sketch-writing class. Poehler advised him to ignore others' advice and enjoy where he is. The pair played an improvised expert game on corn and penicillin before Hernández showered Poehler with compliments as the episode ended; Poehler closed by recommending Mexican comedian Sofía Niño de Rivera.
Chapters
- 0:05
Introduction
Amy Poehler introduces Marcello Hernández and previews the episode's topics.
- 2:53
Sarah Sherman on Marcello
Sarah Sherman describes Hernández's fun, generous team-player personality and offers three questions, including how he writes his jokes.
- 12:38
Flowers and bad texting
Hernández arrives with sunflowers as an apology for slowly answering Poehler's text and praises her career.
- 17:12
Growing up around women and fun at work
Hernández discusses his matriarchal family, communication habits, and his philosophy of avoiding work and having fun at SNL.
- 21:40
Childhood, sports and culture
Hernández describes being an energetic child in Miami, switching from baseball to soccer, and the differences between Cuban and Dominican culture.
- 26:43
College soccer, first monologues and teachers
Hernández recounts recruiting himself into college soccer, winning a monologue competition, and honoring teachers including through a scholarship.
- 35:54
Quitting soccer and the SNL audition
Hernández explains leaving the soccer team for stand-up, his Just for Laughs set and SNL audition, and his generational identity.
- 44:23
Domingo and performing big
They discuss the success of the Domingo sketch and Hernández's tendency to perform at maximum intensity out of fear.
- 49:27
Spanish-language comedy and SNL stress
Hernández talks about touring in Spanish and the evolving Latin American stand-up scene, plus SNL stress dreams and hairstylist Jodi Mancuso.
- 54:07
Sarah's questions answered
Hernández explains his blunt teasing style, his texting, and his insecurity about sketch writing.
- 59:40
Poehler's career advice
Poehler advises Hernández to ignore outside advice and learn to enjoy where he is.
- 1:03:17
Expert game and farewell
Poehler and Hernández play an improvised expert game on corn and penicillin before Hernández compliments Poehler at length as the episode closes.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Sarah Sherman
Sherman said most stand-up comedians hope others don't get stage time, unlike Hernández, who encourages peers.
“I feel like most stand-ups are such fucking bloodsuckers that they, like, hope nobody else is getting up”
- Sarah Sherman
Sherman described Hernández as a genuine team player at SNL who includes others in his bits.
“it's really great at SNL because he is like kind of like a team player in like a real way”
- Sarah Sherman
Sherman suspected Hernández writes much of his material on stage because he is energized by audiences.
“I have a feeling he writes a lot on stage because he's so like physical and like gets really energized by an audience”
Linked moment · 21:40Skip to 21:40 using a listen link in the info box.
Marcello HernándezHernández said soccer suited him as an energetic child with unmedicated ADD because the game never stops.
“And soccer is a perfect sport for a child with ADD that's unmedicated and with a lot of energy because the ball never stops moving”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said his mother, after leaving communist Cuba, fully embraced American identity, even joking about changing the family name to Smith.
“when she came to America, she really leaned in to being American. For years, she would tell us we're all going to change our last name to Smith”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said he founded a scholarship at his college named for two theater instructors who had been let go.
“And it's for kids that want to do what I did. And it's called the Bo and Tom Scholarship by Marcelo Hernandez”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández explained that he volunteered to host shows as a strategy to get far more stage time.
“you can do stand-up way more times than you can just do a spot if you say, I'll host”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said he does not identify as Gen Z because he is too close to his family's immigrant struggle.
“No, because I'm too close. I'm not far enough removed from the immigrant struggle”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández credited Ariana Grande's skill at singing badly on purpose as a key to the Domingo sketch's success.
“is so hard to like sing bad on purpose. And she does it so good”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández argued it is typical of SNL audiences to reward the performer who did the least in a sketch.
“I think it's very SNL for the audience to reward the guy that did the least”
- Amy Poehler
Poehler said she values performers seeming relaxed and having a good time more than having the best jokes.
“Like I always say like I always want people to seem relaxed I don't really care if they have the best jokes or if they're the funniest”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández attributed his apparent ease on SNL to fear, saying he commits fully so that any failure happens at full intensity.
“You're just so scared of it going wrong that you're like, if it goes wrong, I'm going to go wrong swinging to the rafters”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said traditional Spanish-language comedy relied on long stories or political impersonation, making American-style observational stand-up feel fresh to those audiences.
“they did like long stories with a big punchline or it was political it was like SNL where you dress up like a political guy”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said performing in Spanish for Latino audiences feels powerful at a time when Latinos are going through a lot.
“especially today when Latinos are going through a lot and we just get to be in a room and scream in Spanish. It feels very powerful”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández explained his blunt, teasing manner as a product of a family that never allowed him to be soft.
“My deal is that I was not given the opportunity to be soft”
- Marcello Hernández
Hernández said he does not consider himself a great writer and planned to take a sketch-writing class because he came from stand-up rather than sketch.
“I'm probably going to take a sketch writing class this summer because of that fear of like”
- Amy Poehler
Poehler advised that the real career win is being present and enjoying where one is rather than chasing the next goal.
“I think the real win is being actually where you are in life and trying as best you can to enjoy it”
People
In the conversation
- Amy PoehlerAmerican actress, comedian and podcast host, formerly of Saturday Night Live
- Marcello HernándezAmerican stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member of Cuban and Dominican descent
- Sarah ShermanAmerican comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member, formerly known as Sarah Squirm
Discussed
- Ariana GrandeAmerican singer and actress who appeared in Yang's SNL farewell sketch
- Sebastian ManiscalcoAmerican stand-up comedian whom Hernández impersonates on SNL
- Jimmy FallonAmerican comedian and host of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
- John LeguizamoColombian-American actor whose Mambo Mouth monologue Hernández performed in high school
- Sofía Niño de RiveraMexican stand-up comedian and actress recommended by Poehler
- Bo SmithFormer college theater instructor honored by Hernández's scholarship
- Rachel DratchAmerican comedian and former SNL cast member
- Fred ArmisenAmerican comedian, actor and musician, former 'Saturday Night Live' cast member and co-creator of 'Portlandia'
- Jodi MancusoHead of the SNL hair department
Topics
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From the publisher
Marcello Hernández is going to tell us what his deal is. Amy hangs with the 'SNL' star and talks about being a bad texter, why working is bad and weird, and being really good at taking compliments. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Sarah Sherman and Marcello HernándezExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Belle Roman, and Aleya Zenieris; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige GarbariniOriginal Music: Amy Miles Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at https://paypal.com/payin4 Switch today at https://www.Visible.com for just 25/mo. Or get the premium Visible+ pro plan and save $10 on your first month with code HANG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 7, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.