Martin Herlihy Leaves “Saturday Night Live” After Five Seasons

Martin Herlihy is leaving Saturday Night Live after five seasons, ending a run that moved him from viral prerecorded sketches to a primarily behind-the-scenes writing role. His exit arrives as NBC’s long-running comedy prepares for its Season 52 premiere on September 26.

Please Don’t Destroy changed shape at SNL

Herlihy joined the show in 2021 with John Higgins and Ben Marshall as Please Don’t Destroy. The trio quickly became known for fast, tightly edited videos built around exaggerated versions of themselves, often filmed in an office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Their work brought a distinctly online comic rhythm to the broadcast.

For four seasons, Herlihy wrote and appeared in the group’s segments. The arrangement changed after Season 50, when Higgins left the series and Marshall was promoted to the cast. Herlihy remained on the writing staff for Season 51 and continued to appear occasionally, including in sketches released under the “A Film by Martin Herlihy” banner.

NBC declined to comment on the departure, according to Variety. Consequence also confirmed the exit after it was first reported by LateNighter. Neither report identified a next project for Herlihy, leaving his plans after the show open.

Another change before Season 52

Herlihy is not the only familiar contributor leaving before the new season. Chloe Fineman previously announced that she would not return after seven seasons, adding another change to the lineup ahead of the premiere.

The departure also closes a transitional chapter for Please Don’t Destroy at SNL. The group’s original on-screen format had already been disrupted when its members moved into separate roles, but Herlihy’s continued presence on the writing staff maintained a direct link to the trio’s early work. His exit now makes that split more definitive.

Herlihy is the son of former SNL writer Tim Herlihy, but his own tenure was defined by a format tailored to the social-video era. Please Don’t Destroy sketches could live inside a traditional 90-minute broadcast and circulate independently online within minutes. As the show enters another season of cast and staff adjustments, Herlihy leaves behind five years of material that helped connect its live-comedy institution to a faster digital audience.