Another era of pre-taped "Saturday Night Live" sketches is coming to a close with news that Please Don't Destroy, the heir apparent to The Lonely Island, is ... destroyed.
Okay, "destroyed" is dramatic, but I had to — and to be blunt, two of the comedians are still involved with "SNL." Amidst news of exits — like those of Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow — and new cast additions like chaotic "Dropout" standout Jeremy Culhane, we learned that Ben Marshall, one of the three members of "Please Don't
Destroy," is becoming a featured player as a part of the "SNL" cast for season 51. According to a report in Vulture, which also learned the group is not actually splitting up but will continue working together outside of the late night show, Martin Herlihy is remaining on "SNL" as a writer, but John Higgins is leaving. (Full disclosure: Herlihy's father is Adam Sandler's longtime comedy partner Tim Herlihy, and Higgins' dad is Jimmy Fallon's announcer and collaborator Steve Higgins, who also works at "SNL.")
In an Instagram post that featured a screenshot of Vulture's article, Higgins wrote an ode to "SNL" and his time there. "I can't believe how lucky I was to be a part of this show," he began. "It was my dream and I got to live it." He continued:
"And to do it with my two best friends and my dad was an unbelievable experience. Thank you to everyone who made my time there so special, it made this decision that much harder. But for now, I'm excited to pursue acting opportunities that I'll announce soon, but today, I'm just grateful for everything we got to do. As that fat lil bear Winnie the Pooh once said, 'How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.'"
So, what do you need to know about Please Don't Destroy, and why will the intact trio be sorely missed on "SNL" going forward? Here's the deal.
Read more: The 10 Best Saturday Night Live Guest Hosts Ever, Ranked
Please Don't Destroy Made Some Really Great Digital Shorts During Their Saturday Night Live Tenure
Filling a void left by The Lonely Island when its members (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) left "SNL" in the early 2010s, Please Don't Destroy provided a new era of digital shorts, and in case you haven't seen them, I'm here to tell you a lot of them are pretty good! Right out of the gate in 2021 (after the group earned attention on TikTok for their sketches during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly one about getting a very off-brand vaccine), Please Don't Destroy teamed up with cast member Pete Davidson and the November 13 musical guest Taylor Swift for "Three Sad Virgins," letting Davidson and Swift very specifically and personally insult them while pretending they're just singing a fun little song. (I'm speaking authoritatively as a Swiftie here when I say this is Swift's best acting performance, and it's not close.)
Though a decent amount of Please Don't Destroy sketches were ultimately cut for time, clips from popular ones like "Three Sad Virgins," "We Got Her a Cat" (where the boys get guest host Zoë Kravitz a cat and all hell breaks loose), and "Roast" (where Higgins and Herlihy have an unexpected "nepo baby contest" with guest host Dakota Johnson as the four of them all trade insults) went modestly viral, and as a longtime fan of "SNL," I can genuinely say I always looked forward to sketches from Please Don't Destroy. While it's nice to see Marshall elevated to a featured player now that the cast needs to restock before the new season begins, Higgins is also really funny, and it kind of stinks that the gang is splitting up as far as "Saturday Night Live" is concerned, especially because this could indicate the show is moving away from digital shorts.
What's Next For Please Don't Destroy — And Is This The End Of Pre-Taped Sketches On Saturday Night Live?
I'm not saying that the dissolution of Please Don't Destroy on "Saturday Night Live" means the sketch show will stop doing pre-taped sketches; there's always a few scattered through each broadcast, presumably to give cast members a breather and time to change between live sketches. Still, those usually consist of things like commercial parodies, and it is sad to see Please Don't Destroy vacate the spot that The Lonely Island held for years.
As for Please Don't Destroy, they are, again, going to be fine. They're on tour as of this writing (and that wraps up in Baltimore on September 14, 2025, giving Ben Marshall and Martin Herlihy time to get back to work), and in that Vulture article, the outlet confirms that they're also working on a pair of film projects. The trio's debut feature "The Treasure of Foggy Mountain" dropped on Peacock in November 2023 and received somewhat mixed reviews, including right here at /Film ... but there's no denying that, throughout their time as a threesome, Marshall, Herlihy, and John Higgins have earned a ton of goodwill from audiences.
Still, as one of the world's foremost Lonely Island fans and a decently sized fan of Please Don't Destroy, I was always delighted to see one of their sketches included in any given "SNL" episode, so they'll be missed. The 51st season of "Saturday Night Live" premieres on October 4, 2025, and no host or musical guest has been announced yet ... but considering that Taylor Swift's new album "The Life of a Showgirl" drops the day before that, maybe we can get her and Marshall in a sketch together as a little callback to "Three Sad Virgins."
If you're looking for the easiest way to keep up with all the major movie and TV news, why not sign up to our free newsletter?
Read the original article on SlashFilm.
