[imagesource: Nickelodeon Network]

If you are one of the kids who grew up with beloved shows like The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, All That, Victorious and Sam & Cat, then this new docuseries is about to shatter your childhood.

Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV is an Investigation Discovery documentary series exploring the dark side of Dan Schneider’s popular kid-centric shows.

The highly anticipated documentary details the toxic work culture that Schneider fostered while he was “Nickelodeon’s Golden Boy,” as well as the previously untold story of Drake & Josh star Drake Bell’s sexual assault and abuse story.

A mere minor, Drake was abused by Brian Peck, an acting and dialogue coach who worked closely with Schneider until his 2004 child sex abuse conviction. Drake revealed how he was groomed by Peck while starring on The Amanda Show, and says now, at age 37, he’s suffered alcoholism, bankruptcy, and a conviction for child endangerment because of the trauma.

Besides shining a harsh spotlight on the pervasive, toxic culture in the studio and the sexual and psychological abuse suffered by child stars in the 1990s and early 2000s, the docuseries also highlights the misogyny and racism of the adults in charge. What it unveiled shattered the idea that producing children’s television was ever wholesome.

The four-part docuseries is available to stream on Max:

Peck wasn’t the only paedophile at Nickelodeon. Jason Handy, a production assistant closely involved with the young casts of All That and The Amanda Show, was sentenced to six years in 2004 for molesting two girls. He is also highlighted in the docuseries. A third Nickelodeon employee, animator Ezel Channel, went to prison for more than seven years after his 2009 conviction for sexually abusing teenage boys at the studio.

 

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It was in 2018 when the first allegations about Schneider came to light, but this documentary is not the first to question the man’s closeness with young cast members.

In her 2022 biography, Jennette McCurdy, star of iCarly who played opposite a teenage Ariana Grande in its spin-off Sam & Cat, recounted how Schneider, whom she did not name at the time, had her drink alcohol underage, massaged her shoulders, and made her feel uncomfortable by insisting she wore a small bikini in the show at 15.

Scenes involving Grande, at roughly the same age, have also previously come under scrutiny, including one that had her attempting to squeeze juice from a potato she was fondling.

Quiet on Set accomplishes the task of assembling fragmented episodes and anecdotes from a dark era when Schneider held significant power. It provides a thorough portrayal of his shortcomings and those of others, which enabled the exploitation and abuse of children to thrive.

[source:guardian]