Rumored Splintering of Please Don’t Destroy Could Affect ‘SNL’ Cast

Take it all with a grain of salt — for now — but the members of Please Don’t Destroy may be heading in three different directions, two of which would affect the future of Saturday Night Live.

LateNighter is reporting the speculation that the group’s three members, Ben Marshall, Martin Herlihy and John Higgins, would have vastly different roles on the upcoming season of SNL: One would be promoted to cast member, one would stay on as a writer, and the third would be leaving the show altogether. 

Rumors suggest that Ben Marshall is the comic who’d receive the biggest promotion to cast member. He’s the Please Don’t Destroy member who’s done the most performing outside the group, with roles on Poker Face and an upcoming Kevin Hart movie. Marshall went missing from PDD’s live shows last week, temporarily replaced by John Higgins’ wife, comedian Emily Wilson. Was Marshall auditioning for a bigger role on SNL before rejoining the group’s live performances later in the week?

Ironically, Marshall is the only member of the group who didn’t come in with SNL ties. Martin Herlihy is the son of longtime SNL writer and Adam Sandler collaborator Tim Herlihy, while John Higgins’ dad is SNL producer and Jimmy Fallon sidekick Steve Higgins. No guesses yet on which PDD member might stay on as a writer and which may exit the show alongside Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker. 

Another possible reason for breaking up Please Don’t Destroy: The group saw its presence on SNL diminish last season, landing seven Digital Shorts on the show versus eleven in Season 49. You can blame at least some of the group’s reduced presence on making room for three new cast members and a plethora of returning cast cameos, including Dana Carvey, Andy Samberg and Maya Rudolph.

Will one of the Please Don't Destroy guys actually graduate to full cast member? We’ll likely know by this time next week as the show gears up for its season premiere on October 4th.