The comedy trio of Please Don’t Destroy are responsible for most of the viral content coming out of Saturday Night Live’s current seasons. Composed of Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy all of whom met as students at New York University. 

Gaining traction on social media platform TikTok, the group consistently went viral with their surrealist comedy sketches. Particularly during the COVID-19 quarantine period of 2020, the group frequently collaborated on each of their three individual accounts.  

Please Don’t Destroy first appeared on SNL during the program’s 47th season after showrunner Lorne Michaels offered them a job at one of their independent comedy shows. Their most notable sketch during that season was a pseudo music video featuring host Pete Davidson and musical guest Taylor Swift.

While the group is undoubtedly talented in their comedic skills, their rise to fame could partially be attributed to their standing connections in the industry. Higgins is the son of Steve Higgins, known best as the announcer of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”. Higgins has also written and produced for SNL since 1997. Herlihy’s father is Tim Herlihy, another writer and producer for SNL and comedic partner of Adam Sandler. 

The modern era of SNL has seen a decline in audience interest and the program’s relevant standing. When SNL first began in the 1970s, the novelty of running sketches and timely parodies of the week’s current events kept the program entertaining and relevant to audiences. 

With TikTok allowing users to create and mediate their own content, SNL suffered a decline in viewership and the retention of their younger audience. TikTok allows for instant commentary on current events and sketch comedy remains popular amongst the high user base, making the Saturday Night Live sketches both too drawn out and too far after current events to entertain a younger audience. 

SNL has also consistently been critiqued for its inability to grasp current pop culture trends given the older staff currently in the writers room. 

The introduction of Please Don’t Destroy into both the main cast as well as the writer’s room gives SNL a younger feel and an ability to integrate current comedy trends and formatting into the struggling show. 

Lorne Michaels’ decision to bring the social media stars onto the show was an instant success, with their debut sketch Three Sad Virgins, a mock music video featuring Pete Davidson and Taylor Swift immediately went viral. 

Following in the footsteps of classic SNL sketches like “Wayne’s World”, “The Blues Brothers” and “A Night at the Roxbury” the trio wrote and starred in their own movie. 

“Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” was released on the streaming service Peacock with a mediocre response from critics. 

The movie features several cameos from the groups SNL co-stars as well as some notable alumni, with Conan O’ Brian as the main feature with his role as Marshall’s father. Marshall, Higgins and Herlihy work under O’Brian’s character at his outdoor equipment store throughout the movie. 

Funnily enough, this results in Marshalls’ character being a type of ‘nepotism baby’ despite Marshall being the only member of the group who was not born into a family with existing connections in comedy. 

The movie relies on the trio being poorly adjusted adults, with slacker mentalities and a childish fixation on the mythical treasure of foggy mountain. 

Using the trends of previous SNL inspired movies, the film jumps between various scenes of chaos and hijinxs, formatted as a series of smaller sketches existing within the overarching main storyline. Reminiscent of films such as “Tommy Boy” featuring SNL alum’s David Spade and Chris Farley, or the popular Comedy Central show “Workaholics” the movie is endearingly dumb and an entertaining option for a free ninety minutes. 

While SNL has long depended on political happenings and network newscasts for their sketch inspirations, Please Don’t Destroy shifts the focus onto modern social media trends and relevant pop culture. 

While Please Don’t Destroy is only a small part of modern SNL, the trio’s sketches are the shining moments in most of the shows. The guest hosts are often featured alongside the trio but they’re also able to support their own sketches without a celebrity to capture the audience’s attention. 

Using their knowledge of social media and current pop culture, the trio offers a youthful perspective that the broadcast had been lacking for more than a few seasons. The integration of  relevant trends and niche areas of the internet gives a younger audience a reason to watch what many have come to view as an outdated show, despite filming live. 

Marshall, Herlihy and Higgins offer a group dynamic that SNL has thrived on in the past and has been lacking. Their friendship outside the show makes their sketches stronger and dialogue natural despite the often bizarre situations they discuss. Their sketches offer a surrealist and strange break from the typical segments of the show. 

Please Don’t Destroy were deservingly popular on TikTok, successful in the mainstream program of SNL, and are a group to watch as they develop their comedy further. Binge the group’s full collection of sketches on SNL’s Youtube page or find it here.