Major ‘SNL’ Exit Revealed

After four seasons as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and another season as a writer, Martin Herlihy is exiting the show.

Variety was first to report news of Herlihy’s pending exit.

News of Herlihy’s exit comes just week’s before the premiere of SNL‘s 52nd season which will air on Saturday, September 26.

Herlihy is part of the popular comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy, which also features Ben Marshall and John Higgins. The trio has appeared in SNL sketches together since 2021. The trio’s appearances continued across parts of four seasons before Marshall was moved to the main cast after season 50 (in 2025), Higgins left the show and Herlihy transitioned to the writer’s room.

The 27-year-old Herlihy has already made his mark in Hollywood outside of SNL and Please Don’t Destroy. He’s acted in more than a dozen movies and shows including Hubie Halloween, Happy Gilmore 2, The Running Man and The Breadwinner. His writing credits include two stints on Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party.

Happy Gilmore 2 was co-written, along with Adam Sandler, by Herlihy’s dad, Tim.

Just over two months ago another long-tenured SNL cast member, Chloe Fineman, who’d been with the show for seven seasons, announced her exit from the comedy show.

“After 7 wonderful seasons at SNL I have decided it’s time for my next chapter,” Fineman wrote on Instagram. “It’s cliché to say this but working at SNL has been the greatest privilege of my life. I still can’t really believe I got to be a part of it. I fell in love with place the second I walked through the door. Lorne (if you’re reading this on your burner account) I want you to know that I am forever in your debt.”

As of publication, Herlihy has not publicly addressed his exit from SNL.