Well, at least it wasn’t another Donald Trump cold open.
Finally breaking a tiresome pattern that’s been repeating for years, Saturday Night Live skipped politics at the top of this week’s show and instead brought back TikTok legend Domingo. The original sketch went viral last fall, convincing Lorne Michaels that the fans want more, more, more.
The fans beg to differ.
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In the r/LiveFromNewYork subreddit devoted to all things SNL, the latest Domingo sketch just became the most downvoted sketch in the history of Sketch Sorting Sunday, a weekly exercise in which fans give a thumbs up or down to the most recent comedy bits. Rejections of the Domingo cold open overtook a Morgan Wallen appearance that had reigned as the previous downvote champ.
Domingo’s return didn’t get many laughs during the live show, and according to one Redditor, it stunk up the joint at dress rehearsal as well. The audience member assumed the sketch would be cut, but that’s a different animal from axing another sketch later in the show. Michaels likely didn’t have another “Live from New York!” ending ready to go in case of emergency.
“17 million views on TikTok,” as Redditor tealccart points out, is all you need to understand about why the sketch concept keeps coming back. But unless the show’s writers can figure out a new purpose for the character — would it really be that hard? Why not have Chloe Fineman’s character run off with Domingo and see what happens? — Saturday Night Live viewers will continue to groan.
The crushing problem with Domingo isn’t only that it’s a one-joke premise (cuckold Matthew’s wife Kelsey keeps sneaking off for sex romps with her Latin lover). It’s also a one-joke premise that relies on a surprise. In the original sketch, a musical toast to the bride and groom reveals that Kelsey’s been cheating. In the second, third and fourth versions of Domingo, two of which featured Sabrina Carpenter, the reveal is that Kelsey’s been cheating. We know, we know. And the joke this time is…?
To make matters worse, the setups get more convoluted and confusing each time. The original sketch was a spot-on impression of terrible bridesmaid toasts. In the most recent version, Kelsey travels with her friends to Nashville to buy Matthew a birthday present. Huh? What? And the gal pals are singing at Matthew’s party because, well, the sketch demands it. None of it makes sense, and we just watch the clock until Marcello Hernandez makes his inevitable appearance.
As traditional television ratings continue to decline for late-night comedy, Saturday Night Live has found surprising success on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Who cares if ratings are down if millions share Domingo, remixing his songs into something resembling cultural relevance? For better or worse, the sketches that break out on social are the ones SNL will repeat again and again.
In other words, as Redditor 22poppills aptly observes, “We are stuck with Domingo till the end of time.”
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