SNL's Marcello Hernández Says He Loves Punkie Johnson, Molly Kearney and Chloe Troast: 'Sad' to See Them Exit (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Marcello Hernandez attends Variety’s 2024 Power of Young Hollywood party at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel, in Santa Monica, California, August 8, 2024.Photo:MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

Marcello Hernández is ready for his return to Studio 8H.

The 27-year-old comedian is entering his third season as aSaturday Night Livecast member, and Saturday’sseason 50 premierewill mark his debut as part of the main cast after two years as a featured player.

Calling himself a “lucky, lucky young boy,” Hernández tells PEOPLE it feels like “school’s about to start.”

“I’m just happy to be back,” he says. “I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”

“I mean, I spent two years with Punkie and Molly and one year with Chloe at the show, and I love them,” he says of the cast changes. “I love Molly. I love Punkie a lot. And Chloe’s very talented.”

“It’s sad that they’re not going to be on the show, but at the end of the day, I love them and support them, so that’s all you can do,” he adds.

Bad Bunny, Marcello Hernandez, Punkie Johnson during the ‘Telenovela’ sketch on Oct. 21, 2023 on ‘Saturday Night Live’.Will Heath/NBC via Getty

Will Heath/NBC via Getty

As three new faces join the ranks of the famed late-night comedy sketch show — Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline — Hernández says he’s looking forward to getting back into the swing of things on the hit NBC show.

“I haven’t been able to really hang out with the new cast [yet], but I’ll see them soon,” he says. “It’s going to be like summer camp.”

Hernández jokes that you “can’t miss” that the cast is heading into a historic season for the show, but he is not thinking of it any differently, adding, “I’m approaching it like year one.”

As he looks back on his first two years at the show, the people he’s gotten to meet and the comedy he’s gotten to perform are staggering.

One of the crazier parts is “meeting people that I never thought I would meet,” he says, before sharing some of the stars who have left him particularly starstruck.

“Tom Hanks,Bad Bunny,Pedro [Pascal],Ana de Armas… Everybody that has come to the show has been crazy…Karol G,Billie Eilish,Maya Rudolph,Amy Poehler,Kristen Wiig,” he continues. “Just meeting everybody has been incredible — and getting to see them work. It’s a blessing.”

Marcello Hernandez serves up cocktails with Buchanan’s Whisky at the grand opening of Café Colmado in NYC.José “Tutes” Tutivén

José “Tutes” Tutivén

He also got the chance to meetSnoop Doggat theSummer Olympicsin Paris in July, who is someone he “never thought I’d be around.”

“I metSnoop Dogg at the Olympics, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” he recalls, though when asked if the iconic rapper knew who he was, Hernández admits, “No, I don’t think so… But everybody knows Snoop.”

“It means a lot to me,” he adds of the opportunities he’s been offered since hisSNLdebut three years ago. “I wish my grandmother could see some of it.”

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Saturday Night Liveseason 50 premieres Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

source: people.com