SNL adds five new cast members ahead of Season 51, including a high-profile name from Please Don’t Destroy
Saturday Night Live is expanding its troupe for Season 51, announcing five new cast members. The standout addition is Ben Marshall, one of the founders of the comedy group Please Don’t Destroy, which has regularly produced digital sketches for the show and appeared in SNL scenes.
Within Please Don’t Destroy, Marshall joins the cast, while Martin Herlihy is expected to stay on as a writer and John Higgins is set to depart the cast. The dynamics within the trio mean that Marshall will bring his established voice to the live stage, while Higgins moves on from the SNL performer role.
Rounding out the new hires are Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska, who will join the show’s ensemble for the upcoming season.
The changes come after several departures: Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow left SNL, though the show isn’t undergoing a full exodus. If no other cast changes occur, the new additions will push the ensemble to a larger size than last season.
Details on the newcomers:
– Ben Marshall: Co-founder of Please Don’t Destroy, known for creating digital content that tied into SNL sketches.
– Tommy Brennan: Former New Face of Comedy at Just for Laughs (2023), has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
– Jeremy Culhane: Regular on Dropout TV (formerly CollegeHumor) and a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.
– Kam Patterson: Stand-up comedian and a regular on the Kill Tony live shows and podcast.
– Veronika Slowikowska: Known for viral sketch content on Instagram and TikTok; has appeared in Tires and What We Do in the Shadows.
Season 51 is set to premiere on October 4, with SNL, produced by Broadway Video, continuing its blend of veteran voices and new talents to refresh the late-night format.
Overall, the cast shake-up signals a push to inject fresh energy and digital-era sensibilities into SNL’s sketches, while maintaining continuity with longtime performers and writers.
Additional notes and context:
– The inclusion of Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall marks a continued collaboration between SNL and the comedy troupe, which has become a recurring source of material for the show.
– The new hires bring a mix of stand-up, sketch, and online comedy experience, suggesting potential for a broad range of voices and humor in upcoming episodes.
– The departures of Gardner, Walker, Wakim and Longfellow open space for newer talents to showcase their styles, potentially reshaping the show’s character-driven and recurring sketch formats.
If you’re following SNL’s evolution, this season’s lineup emphasizes a blend of fresh digital and live-performance comedy with a foundation in the show’s established traditions. A hopeful takeaway is that the expanded cast could lead to more diverse sketches and opportunities for breakout moments across guest hosts and musical performances.
Summary-style takeaway: SNL broadens its cast for Season 51 with five new members, including Ben Marshall of Please Don’t Destroy, while maintaining a core group of writers and performers as other members depart. The result could be a more varied and energetic season starting October 4.