From three to two sad virgins: SNL loses a third of Please Don’t Destroy
Photo Collage by Sienna Lewis, Staff Photographer
Alongside the iconic sketches Saturday Night Live (SNL) has been producing since 1975, pre-recorded shorts have been a major hit on the show.
In 2021, Please Don’t Destroy, a sketch comedy group consisting of Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy, joined SNL to create digital shorts for the 47th season. They debuted with the sketch “Hard Seltzer,” and continued to make shorts that gained widespread popularity, like “Three Sad Virgins” which starred Taylor Swift and Pete Davidson.
On Sept. 2, SNL announced five new cast members, including Marshall. It was also confirmed that Herlihy would continue writing for the show and Higgins would be leaving to pursue other acting opportunities. I’m curious to know if Herlihy and Higgins also auditioned, but I’m sure that with time, we will find out.
As an avid fan of SNL, the Please Don’t Destroy sketches were always a highlight of the show, and I would find myself more excited to watch the episodes that included them. The situation feels similar to when The Lonely Island joined SNL, but only Andy Samberg joined the cast — except now we’re seeing a departure of a third of the group.
Marshall and Higgins shared their thoughts about the situation on their Instagrams, explaining that their time on SNL has been a dream come true. However, part of Higgins’ message insinuated that the choice to leave was his.
“Thank you to everyone who made my time there so special, it made this decision that much harder,” Higgins wrote.
In his comment section, he reassured fans that this would not be the end of Please Don’t Destroy, but their time at SNL together is over.
I look forward to seeing what the group continues to post. However, I think that during the upcoming season, we won’t see as much of the three “sad virgins.” From the memoirs I’ve read and documentaries I’ve seen, working at SNL is a hectic side of show business to be in. One week to put on an iconic show, working well into the night writing sketches, crafting each aspect of the show. Even up until a sketch is live on air, there can be changes made.
To me, seeing Marshall on the new cast list was a surprise. Not to say it is undeserved, I think it very much is, but now without the two men he’s done it with since 2017, it will feel different. While Higgins and Herlihy have family connections to the comedy industry, Marshall is the only person without familial pull. That doesn’t take away from the trio’s collective or individual talent, but it is inspiring to see Marshall’s talent bring him this far on his own merit.
Does SNL need Please Don’t Destroy more than Please Don’t Destroy needs SNL, or vice versa? I think they will both be fine. It will feel like a loss for a while to the fans who loved the content, but the show will recover and could always bring in a new group. Not seeing the iconic trio together will definitely cause a shake-up for the fans and the content we’ve expected to see.
I can’t wait to see what ends up happening in a few months’ time, but I also might have to hold a vigil for the loss of Please Don’t Destroy sketches on SNL.