The shakeup for Season 51 of Saturday Night Live has splintered the film short comedy trio that had been a part of the show the last dew seasons.
Earlier today, it was announced that Ben Marshall will become a featured player for Season 51. He is one-third of the comedy team Please Don’t Destroy with fellow SNL staff members Martin Herlihy and John Higgins.
Higgins is leaving the show, and Herlihy will remain as a writer for the upcoming season, which will be his fifth in that capacity.
Please Don’t Destroy came to SNL as a fully formed digital shorts trio before Season 46, in 2021. The team produced several popular pre-taped sketches and short films for the program, often utilizing the guest host and cast members.
Marshall and Higgins and reportedly each auditioned for cast roles in prior seasons. Now, Marshall will join four others as new featured players for the next season, which kicks off on October 4.
John Higgins is the son of Steve Higgins, a producer and writer on Saturday Night Live, who has been employed on the show since the mid-1990s. Herlihy, who is staying on, is the son of Tim Herlihy, who was previously an acclaimed SNL writer, going back to the 1990s.
Please Don’t Destroy has slowed its production of content outside of SNL since the trio of Herlihy, Higgins, and Marshall became writers four years ago. Some of their most popular videos for the show have been centered on a warped comedic style and nonsensical story lines, like this one featuring Dakota Johnson in Season 49:
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