A few days after four people departed the Saturday Night Live cast, the NBC sketch series is bringing several new members into its ensemble — including one already familiar to viewers of recent seasons.
Ben Marshall, an SNL writer since 2021 and a member of Please Don’t Destroy (along with John Higgins and Martin Herlihy), will join the cast as a featured player for the 2025-26 season. Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska have also been named featured players.
The announcement of the new featured players comes after a week that saw castmembers Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim and Devon Walker leave the show in the largest cast turnover since 2022.
The Please Don’t Destroy trio, however, won’t all be coming back to SNL. Marshall will no longer be on the writing staff as he moves into the cast, and Higgins is departing. Herlihy will remain a writer on the show, and the three will continue working together on projects outside of SNL.
Brennan is a stand-up comic who was named a Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy in 2023 and has performed on The Tonight Show. Culhane is a regular on Dropout TV and performs with the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles; he’s also appeared on The Sex Lives of College Girls and American Vandal.
Patterson is a stand-up comic and a regular on Tony Hinchcliffe’s podcast Kill Tony. He’ll next be seen with Kevin Hart in Netflix’s movie 72 hours. Slowikowska has a large social media following for her sketch comedy and has appeared on What We Do in the Shadows and Tires.
SNL is set to premiere its 51st season Oct. 4.
Sept. 2, 11:40 a.m. Updated with John Higgins leaving the SNL writers’ room.