‘SNL’ Splits Up Please Don’t Destroy: John Higgins Exits and Martin Herlihy Remains on Writing Staff as Ben Marshall Joins Cast

The Please Don’t Destroy boys are being split up on “Saturday Night Live.”

Ben Marshall, who makes up one-third of the comedy trio responsible for several viral “SNL” digital shorts over the last four seasons, was one of five new additions to the featured cast announced on Tuesday. Following the news of his promotion, Variety learned that while Martin Herlihy will remain on the writing staff, John Higgins has exited the series to pursue other projects as an actor.

On “Saturday Night Live,” Please Don’t Destroy was known for their off-beat, often self-deprecating digital shorts, following in the footsteps of the Lonely Island. They typically played themselves in the videos, which feature A-list celebrity hosts such as Taylor Swift, Timothée Chalamet, Dakota Johnson, Rami Malek and more.

The trio was formed in 2017 after Marshall, Higgins and Herlihy met and began collaborating as students at NYU. In addition to regular live performances in New York, they gained popularity for sketches they posted on social media in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, they were hired to join the 47th season of “SNL” as writers.

Separately from “SNL,” in 2023, they released the film “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” on Peacock, with Judd Apatow serving as executive producer. Herlihy recently appeared in “Happy Gilmore 2,” with upcoming credits including the films “Running Man,” “Roommates” and “Breadwinner.”

Herlihy is the son of Tim Herlihy, a longtime collaborator of Adam Sandler’s who wrote on “Saturday Night Live” for seven seasons from 1994 to 1999, eventually becoming head writer. Higgins’ father, Steve Higgins, has been an “SNL” writer-producer since 1995.