Please Don’t Destroy, the comedy trio behind recurring "Saturday Night Live" digital shorts, said it will remain together even as individual ties to SNL shift following a sweeping cast reset.
Ben Marshall was announced as a new cast member ahead of SNL’s 51st season, while John Higgins will be leaving the NBC show. The trio — Marshall, Higgins and Martin Herlihy — have produced digital shorts for SNL since 2022.
The group addressed the personnel changes during a live set Friday at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. Higgins opened with, "How’s everybody’s week goin’?" Herlihy asked, "Anything go on this week?" Higgins then declared, "It’s PDD forever, baby," and Marshall added, "What he said."
SNL announced on Sept. 2 that it had added five cast members: Marshall, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. The moves came after a string of departures following Season 50, which the New York Post and other outlets characterized as a significant roster overhaul.
Among those who left before Season 51 were Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker. Heidi Gardner, SNL’s longest-tenured current female cast member before the change, did not have her contract renewed, a source told the Post. The announcement prompted reaction from former and current SNL figures: comedian Punkie Johnson wrote, "wtf is happening… This is like the departed," and Dana Carvey, who returned to the show last season, said on his podcast that Gardner’s departure did not appear to be her choice.
Producers and former cast members have framed the changes as an attempt to refresh the ensemble under the show’s longtime creator and producer, Lorne Michaels. The additions and exits were confirmed in press materials and social media posts from NBC and SNL affiliates.
Please Don’t Destroy will continue producing and performing together outside the specifics of SNL’s roster. The group’s digital shorts have been a recurring feature on the show for several seasons, and Marshall’s elevation to cast member follows a precedent of writers and contributors being promoted into on-air roles.
SNL Season 51 is scheduled to premiere Oct. 4 on NBC.