On 'Quiet on Set,' former Nickelodeon actors, writers recall bad behavior backstage

Millions of Americans of a certain age no doubt have fond childhood memories of watching Nickelodeon programming such as “The Amanda Show,” “All That,” “Sam & Cat” and “Drake & Josh” — comedy and sketch programs that were created for kids and tweens, starring kids and tweens, and often featured silly, outlandish, slapstick humor.

At the time, virtually nobody on the outside raised any objections about certain scenes that had clearly sexualized overtones. Nor did we know about the allegedly unacceptable behavior behind the scenes, most notably on the part of Dan Schneider, the actor-turned-producer who was the primary creative force on a dozen popular Nickelodeon shows.

In recent years, certain clips have been re-examined, for example of a young Ariana Grande on “Victorious,” saying, “Is it possible for a teenage girl to drink water upside down?” and then proceeding to douse herself with a water bottle while upside-down in bed.

We’ve also heard stories of a toxic workplace environment from “iCarly” star Jennette McCurdy in her memoir and in a Business Insider article in which former actors and staff members on Nickelodeon shows described traumatizing experiences on sets.

Now comes the four-part Investigation Discovery documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which expands on Business Insider’s reporting and delivers a journalistically solid, straightforward and at times heartbreaking expose, with a number of former actors and behind-the-scenes personnel telling their stories. Directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, “Quiet on Set” will have you thinking about all those wildly popular children’s TV shows in a whole different light.

Relying on archival clips, a bounty of behind-the-scenes video footage and present-day interviews with former cast members, parents and journalists, “Quiet on Set” follows a mostly chronological timeline, reminding us that, in the 1990s, there was no Internet for consumers, no TikTok, no viral videos. If you were a kid, it was pretty much the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon.

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Schneider, who was best known at the time for starring on the ABC sitcom “Head of the Class,” segued into writing and producing, penning the pilot for “All That” in 1994 and quickly demonstrating a keen acumen for finding young talent while playing a major part in the creation of “Drake & Josh,” “Kenan & Kal,” “The Amanda Show,” “Victorious,” “What I Like About You” and “Zoey 101,” among others.

Schneider was recognized as the most powerful presence at Nickelodeon — and, according to former staffers and actors, often abused that status, telling off-color jokes on set and in writers’ rooms, consistently demanding that makeup artists and others give him massages and overseeing shows with sometimes questionable elements, for example giving a character on “The Amanda Show” a last name that referenced a certain part of the anatomy.

Jenny Kilgen, a writer on “The Amanda Show,” talks of Schneider telling her in front of group of her peers, out of the blue, “Didn’t you used to do phone sex?” (Kilgen eventually sued Schneider’s production company for gender discrimination, settling for an undisclosed amount.) Another writer there, Christy Stratton, tells of Schneider cajoling her into humiliating actions, including having her simulate being sodomized in the writers’ room.

Former child actors Katrina Johnson, Kyle Sullivan, Giovonnie Samuels and Alexa Nikolas share sobering insights and memories. Bryan Hearne recalls being traumatized by a stunt in which he was covered by peanut butter that was licked off his body by dogs.

Investigation Discovery

In Episode 3, titled “The Darkest Secret,” Drake Bell goes public for the first time and tells of actor and dialogue coach Brian Peck assaulting him on numerous occasions when Bell was 15.

“It just became this secret that I held onto,” says Bell. “It just got worse and worse and worse. … I was just trapped, and there was no way out.”

At Peck’s trial, Bell says Peck’s side of the courtroom was filled with supporters, while on his side, it was “me, my mom and my brother.” In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

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In March 2018, Nickelodeon reportedly severed ties with Schneider after an internal investigation found evidence of Schneider verbally abusing colleagues. Three years later, in an interview with The New York Times, Schneider denied that he exited Nickelodeon under cloudy circumstances, said the comedy on his shows “was totally innocent” and denied acting inappropriately with colleagues.

Everyone has their truth, as the modern saying goes. Watching “Quiet on Set,” there’s little doubt that, for many of the interview subjects who worked on those beloved shows, the truth is their experiences ranged from a mixed bag to unpleasant to awful to unspeakably horrific.