‘SNL’ Chaos Alert: John Higgins Bails—Are ‘Please Don’t Destroy’ Sketches About to Get Cancelled or Catapulted to Stardom?
Added on September 2, 2025 inTV News Cards
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Ever notice how the stars love a good finale just as much as a fresh start? Well, the cosmic powers at NBC seem to be nodding in agreement because the Please Don’t Destroy troupe’s run on Saturday Night Live is wrapping up — and just in time for the show’s 51st season. Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, the comedic trio who stormed the SNL writing stage in 2021 and delivered 34 laugh-out-loud shorts, are now charting separate paths. With Marshall stepping up as a featured player, Higgins moving on to chase new adventures, and Herlihy sticking to the writer’s room, the beloved sketches that defined a quirky era are retiring their spotlight. Could this be a case of cosmic realignment, or just classic showbiz evolution? Either way, their creative bond isn’t fading; they’ve got big plans beyond the SNL skyline, including a couple of feature films, proving that when one door closes, a constellation of new ones opens. Curious about the final bow of Please Don’t Destroy and what’s next for this stellar team? LEARN MORE
The Please Don’t Destroy era at Saturday Night Live is coming to an end.
Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy have starred in a series of Please Don’t Destroy filmed sketches since they joined the SNL writing staff in 2021. NBC announced Tuesday that Marshall is joining the show’s cast as a featured player for the coming 51st season; with that came news that Higgins is leaving the show to pursue other opportunities, while Herlihy will remain a writer. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that with the trio no longer all employed at SNL, no more Please Don’t Destroy sketches are planned.
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Marshall, Higgins and Herlihy plan to continue working on other projects together outside of SNL, including have deals to co-write a pair of features at two different studios, sources tell THR. They previously wrote and starred in the 2023 film The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, which premiered on Peacock.
The trio formed Please Don’t Destroy in 2017 as students at New York University. They joined SNL four years ago and had 34 of their shorts aired during the past four seasons of the show.
Higgins is one of a few writers who have left SNL ahead of season 51, which premieres Oct. 4. Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker have also departed, as have castmembers Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow and Emil Wakim.
Marshall is one of five new featured players on the show, alongside Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska.
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