Marcello Hernández On Bowen Yang’s ‘SNL’ Exit & His Own Future On NBC Sketch Show

Marcello Hernández had to say goodbye to Bowen Yang following his departure from Saturday Night Live and has a delightful analogy about how it all played out.

During the red carpet for the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards, Hernández was asked about Yang’s SNL exit after seven seasons.

“I look at it like sports,” Hernández said in an interview with E! News. “That’s a guy that put up numbers, consistent, always putting up — big sketches, and had a distinct voice and everybody loves him, and it’s for a reason.”

He continued, “He’s a hard worker. I saw him behind the scenes grinding every week and it’s a guy to learn from for sure.”

With several key cast members leaving SNL, Hernández was asked if he was staying put on the NBC sketch show, given that his star continues to rise as well.

“I’m there. I’m there. I’m there,” he said, adding, “I’m having fun. It’s a crazy job and you get to meet so many crazy people and I love it. I’m having fun.”

Yang’s last SNL episode as a full-time cast member was on December 20, hosted by Ariana Grande and featuring musical guest Cher. Ahead of his departure, the Wicked actor took to social media to reflect on his time on the late-night variety show.

“I’m grateful for every minute of my time there. I learned about myself (bad with wigs). I learned about others (generous, vulnerable, hot). I learned that human error can be nothing but correct. I learned that comedy is mostly logistics and that it will usually fail until it doesn’t, which is the besssst,” Yang wrote in a social media post.

He closed out his post, writing, “thank you to lorne for the job. for the standard. and for bringing everyone at work together. they all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. i can’t believe i was ever included in that.”