Forget post-Covid. In thisSaturday Night Livesketch from Please Don’t Destroy, there is now a good variant that makes everything awesome. The Please Don’t Destroy group, made up ofBen Marshall,John Higgins, andMartin Herlihy,has produced some of the best sketches this season, all of which begin in some form in their writer’s office. In this sketch, Marshall announces there’s a new COVID variant, and the three lament about how frustrating Covid has been, hoping it will end soon. Marshall, however, cuts them off, saying “apparently this one is good.” They turn on the news where a newscaster, played by this week’s hostJohn Mulaney,says the new strain has mutated so hard it doesn’t make you sick, it “just makes you feel dope.”
Entitled the “Gelvini” variant, which comes from the sandy beaches of Cabo St. Lucas, makes you feel awesome and happy, unlike all of its predecessors. Herilhy shows that Dr. Fauci, the Chief Medical Advisor to the President and one of the main voices throughout COVID, is tweeting that people should go to the club. In a surprise appearance,Paul Ruddcomes into their office, saying the Gelvini variant actually made him sick. The guys start to freak out, but Rudd yells it made him sick at playing synth, pulling out a synth and playing.
The sketch cuts to a montage of the Please Don’t Destroy guys and Rudd partying while a nurse (Sarah Sherman) gives them COVID tests, declaring that they are positive. In another surprise cameo, weather caster and TV personalityAl Rokerwalks in with a giant sandwich, yelling “Did somebody say hungry?” The guys cheer and break out the beer, and Roker chugs. They eventually break out the disco ball and balloons, the party getting increasingly crazy. The fun comes to a stop when the nurse tells Herlihy that he is positive for anal worms, but celebrates that they “caught it early!”
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Things continue to get better, with the good variant giving everyone long, beautiful hair and the announcement that Pokémon are real. Mulaney’s newsman joins the party, and they all celebrate. Once again, the fun comes to a stop when it appears the Pokémon are attacking the Capitol, but it turns out they are there to pass legislation alongside President Biden. The men cheer one last time before ending on a freeze-frame of Roker screaming, with the title card “Executive Producer Al “Forty-Hands” Roker.”
The sketch is another hit out of Please Don’t Destroy, who have been hailed as the freshest addition toSNLin years. The group was formed in 2017 at NYU, where Marshall, Higgins, and Herlihy studied together. Both Higgins and Herihly are sons of pastSNLwriters, Higgins the son ofSteve Higgins, a producer onSNLand Jimmy Fallon’s sidekick onThe Tonight Show, and Herihly the son ofTim Herihly, a frequent collaborator ofAdam Sandler. They certainly inherited their fathers' funny bones, with this sketch that imagines the best possible ending to Covid. You can watch it below:
