Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | News | September 2, 2025
After last week’s “exodus” (and if there were only four exits, I wouldn’t even call it an exodus — just simple turnover), Lorne Michaels has brought in five new cast members to SNL, one of whom will already be familiar to us. That’s Ben Marshall, the redheaded, non-nepo baby member of Please Don’t Destroy, which suggests that Please Don’t Destroy will no longer remain a presence on the show. (Rumors are that Martin Herlihy will remain on the show as a writer, but that John Higgins is exiting SNL altogether).
There were rumors about two other potential cast members, and I was hoping it wasn’t true for one: Kam Patterson. He’s a regular at Kill Tony shows, and let’s just say diplomatically that he’s on the Shane Gillis side of the comedy spectrum (you can see for yourself. He likes immigrants, as long as they speak English. He thinks it’s cool to have a gay friend, but if you have two, that means you’re gay. He told Tucker Carlson how much his grandma hates him after he gave Carlson a big bro-hug).
Speaking of Shane Gillis, another new cast member, Veronika Slowikowska parlayed a huge TikTok following into roles on Poker Face and a recurring one on the second season of Gillis’ Tires. She was actually really good. I’m not going to lie. I like her.
I am less familiar with the other two new cast members, Tommy Brennan and Jeremy Culhane. Brennan is a stand-up comedian and co-creator of the popular web series, “Roommates‑In‑Law.” His comedy is described as “midwest roots,” which I suspect means Bargatze-ish. Jeremy Culhane, on the other hand, fits the prototypical SNL hire: Sketch guy (Upright Citizens Brigade and Groundlings background), an actor with a number of television and movie appearances, and a guy who has a sizable online following.
And those are the newbies, following last week’s departures of Heidi Gardner, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow.
