Ben Marshall has been promoted to a featured cast member on Saturday Night Live.
The long-running sketch show is undergoing a refresh of performers ahead of season 51, with Veronika Slowikowska, Jeremy Culhane, Kam Patterson and Tommy Brennan also joining as featured players in the wake of the departures of Heidi Garner after eight seasons, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker after three seasons each, and Emil Wakim after just one.
Ben has already been part of SNL for four seasons, joining as a member of comedy trio Please Don't Destroy, with troupemate John Higgins leaving the show and Martin Herlihy staying on staff as a writer.
Veronika has acting credits in Netflix's comedy series Tires and FX's What We Do in the Shadows, but is best known for her comedy sketch videos on Instagram and Tik Tok.
Similarly, Jeremy is also prolific on social media and is a regular in Dropout TV programming, as well as performing in Los Angeles with the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Rounding out the newcomers are stand-up stars Kam and Tommy, with the latter named on the Just for Laughs New Face of Comedy list in 2023.
Emil recently admitted it was a "gut punch" to have been dropped from the Saturday Night Live cast.
He wrote in an announcement: “I won’t be returning to SNL next year. It was a gut punch of a call to get but I’m so grateful for my time there.
“Every time I scanned into the building I would think how insane it is to get to work there. It was the most terrifying, thrilling, and rewarding experience of my life and I will miss it dearly and all the brilliant people that work there that made it feel like a home.”
Meanwhile, Devon admitted his time on the show was "toxic as hell" at times but he also enjoyed some "really cool" experiences.
He wrote on Instagram last month: “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell. But we did what we made the most of what it was, even amidst all of the dysfunction. We made a f***** up lil family.”
Saturday Night Live Season 51 premieres on NBC on 4 October.
