Why Please Do not Destroy Left SNL

One other period of pre-taped “Saturday Evening Stay” sketches is coming to a detailed with information that Please Do not Destroy, the inheritor obvious to The Lonely Island, is … destroyed.

Okay, “destroyed” is dramatic, however I needed to — and to be blunt, two of the comedians are nonetheless concerned with “SNL.” Amidst information of exits — like these of Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow — and new forged additions like chaotic “Dropout” standout Jeremy Culhane, we discovered that Ben Marshall, one of many three members of “Please Do not Destroy,” is changing into a featured participant as part of the “SNL” forged for season 51. In response to a report in Vulture, which additionally discovered the group is just not truly splitting up however will proceed working collectively outdoors of the late night time present, Martin Herlihy is remaining on “SNL” as a author, however John Higgins is leaving. (Full disclosure: Herlihy’s father is Adam Sandler’s longtime comedy associate Tim Herlihy, and Higgins’ dad is Jimmy Fallon’s announcer and collaborator Steve Higgins, who additionally works at “SNL.”)

In an Instagram submit that featured a screenshot of Vulture’s article, Higgins wrote an ode to “SNL” and his time there. “I am unable to consider how fortunate I used to be to be part of this present,” he started. “It was my dream and I acquired to dwell it.” He continued:

“And to do it with my two finest mates and my dad was an unbelievable expertise. Thanks to everybody who made my time there so particular, it made this choice that a lot more durable. However for now, I am excited to pursue appearing alternatives that I am going to announce quickly, however in the present day, I am simply grateful for the whole lot we acquired to do. As that fats lil bear Winnie the Pooh as soon as stated, ‘How fortunate I’m to have one thing that makes saying goodbye so laborious.'”

So, what do you’ll want to find out about Please Do not Destroy, and why will the intact trio be sorely missed on “SNL” going ahead? Here is the deal.

Filling a void left by The Lonely Island when its members (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone) left “SNL” within the early 2010s, Please Do not Destroy offered a brand new period of digital shorts, and in case you have not seen them, I am right here to let you know quite a lot of them are fairly good! Proper out of the gate in 2021 (after the group earned consideration on TikTok for his or her sketches through the COVID-19 pandemic, notably one about getting a very off-brand vaccine), Please Do not Destroy teamed up with forged member Pete Davidson and the November 13 musical visitor Taylor Swift for “Three Unhappy Virgins,” letting Davidson and Swift very particularly and personally insult them whereas pretending they’re simply singing a enjoyable little music. (I am talking authoritatively as a Swiftie right here once I say that is Swift’s finest appearing efficiency, and it is not shut.)

Although a good quantity of Please Do not Destroy sketches had been finally minimize for time, clips from widespread ones like “Three Unhappy Virgins,” “We Acquired Her a Cat” (the place the boys get visitor host Zoë Kravitz a cat and all hell breaks unfastened), and “Roast” (the place Higgins and Herlihy have an sudden “nepo child contest” with visitor host Dakota Johnson because the 4 of all of them commerce insults) went modestly viral, and as a longtime fan of “SNL,” I can genuinely say I all the time regarded ahead to sketches from Please Do not Destroy. Whereas it is good to see Marshall elevated to a featured participant now that the forged must restock earlier than the brand new season begins, Higgins can be actually humorous, and it form of stinks that the gang is splitting up so far as “Saturday Evening Stay” is anxious, particularly as a result of this might point out the present is transferring away from digital shorts.

I am not saying that the dissolution of Please Do not Destroy on “Saturday Evening Stay” means the sketch present will cease doing pre-taped sketches; there’s all the time just a few scattered by means of every broadcast, presumably to present forged members a breather and time to alter between dwell sketches. Nonetheless, these normally encompass issues like industrial parodies, and it’s unhappy to see Please Do not Destroy vacate the spot that The Lonely Island held for years.

As for Please Do not Destroy, they’re, once more, going to be positive. 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 again to work), and in that Vulture article, the outlet confirms that they are additionally engaged on a pair of movie tasks. The trio’s debut function “The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” dropped on Peacock in November 2023 and obtained considerably blended evaluations, together with proper right here at /Movie … however there is not any denying that, all through their time as a threesome, Marshall, Herlihy, and John Higgins have earned a ton of goodwill from audiences.

Nonetheless, as one of many world’s foremost Lonely Island followers and a decently sized fan of Please Do not Destroy, I used to be all the time delighted to see one in all their sketches included in any given “SNL” episode, in order that they’ll be missed. The 51st season of “Saturday Evening Stay” premieres on October 4, 2025, and no host or musical visitor has been introduced but … however contemplating that Taylor Swift’s new album “The Lifetime of a Showgirl” drops the day earlier than that, possibly we are able to get her and Marshall in a sketch collectively as somewhat callback to “Three Unhappy Virgins.”