Kaela Sherron

For decades, the classic and iconic channel’s that many children watched on television were shows from Nickelodeon. Many shows were successful like Drake & Josh, iCarly, Victorious, Zoey 101, Henry Danger and more. All of these shows stemmed from the same creator and producer: Dan Schneider. The famous creator and producer seemed to be a genius, however, his status came to a crashing halt after allegations came out in 2018 amid the Me Too movement. These allegations are finally being addressed through the Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a four-part docuseries on Investigation Discovery.

According to Zoe Guy, a journalist from Vulture, there were reports of Dan Schneider’s alleged on-set anger issues in 2018, when there was online criticism of Schneider’s tendency to post pictures of young actresses’ feet he employed on Twitter. Guy cites that in 2022, “former child actors, including iCarly‘s Jennette McCurdy and Zoey 101‘s Alexa Nikolas, called out ‘sexualized’ scenes Schneider included in children’s shows.” In addition, Crew members alleged gender discrimination and harassment, “specifically recalling moments when Schneider asked them for massages in the middle of the workday.”

This series brings light to these allegations and confirms the stories, which is pretty damaging to Nickelodeon and Schneider’s reputation. In the series, Drake Bell alleged abuse that he experienced while on Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh. Ahead of the series premiere, Nickelodeon made a statement to Vulture, “Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.”

In the April 7th episode, titled “Breaking the Silence,” journalist Soledad O’Brien interviewed Drake Bell, All That alums Bryan Hearne and Giovonnie Samuels, as well as other special guest stars about the series and their experiences at Nickelodeon. According to People Magazine, Quiet on Set was viewed by more than 16 million people. One of the most shocking bombshells in the docuseries is the interview with Drake Bell, who “spoke out about being sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck when he was 15.” Peck was sentenced in 2004 for sexual abuse. Bell’s name was not released to the public due to the fact that Bell was a minor. Peck was then sentenced to 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender.

Due to Peck’s reputation in the workplace, many actors supported Peck rather than Bell, specifically Boy Meets World actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong. Letters were written in support of Peck, which was first publicly revealed in this series, according to Nicole Acosta from People Magazine. On an episode of the podcast, Pod Meets World, the actors expressed their regret over the letters prior to the release of the docuseries on March 17th. Both Friedle and Strong recognized that they were led to believe the wrong narrative, initiating an apology to Bell for writing the letters. A post shared to X (formerly Twitter) on April 5, Bell expressed forgiveness toward Strong.

Dan Schneider came out with a statement following the release of the docuseries. A spokesperson for Schneider wrote, per The Hollywood Reporter,  “Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network. Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny.” It continued, “Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes. In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals.”

In addition, Schneider defended himself and apologized for his actions in a 20-minute YouTube video released on March 19. Bryan Hearne and Giovonnie Samuels “were visibly laughing” as O’Brien pointed out, after a clip of the video played, found the apology unconvincing. Hearne says, “If I could be candid, Dan was an actor before all of this. And so, I think that he brushed off some chops, and gave us a nice performance. Where was all of this apologizing when Jennette McCurdy’s book came out?”

Samuels also revealed that Schneider called her a week before the docuseries debut, asking for “a quote of support” but she declined. She said, “He asked because I came back [to work with Schneider at the network] to do Henry Danger, which was some time later.” She added that Schneider knew she was going to be featured in Quiet on Set. “He’s like, ‘You had a good time on set, right? Right?”

Samuels shared that she responded to Schneider’s question. Samuels says, “I told him I was terrified of him. I said ‘You have the power to make people stars. And I was intimidated by you. I wanted to do a good job.'”

All of this information is incredibly serious and there is so much more to unpack. Christian Kiley, a fellow Penn State Abington student, spoke about his experience watching the docuseries. “Drake’s story was heartbreaking,” he said. “It felt like an old friend was telling you about the worst thing that’s ever happened to them.” Kiley expressed his love for Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and The Amanda Show because of the random humor and characters.

“I’m hoping that as a reaction to the documentary,” Kiley continued,  “and all the horrible things it detailed, that child actors will have much more protection in the future, so this kind of thing never happens again.”