Our generation obsessed over famous kids’ shows on networks such as Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. These shows shaped our childhood, bringing laughter and joy to our home lives. Nickelodeon was one of the most popular channels starting in the 90s and at its peak in the early 2000s, all due to the producer that joined the network in 1988, Dan Schneider. Schneider was appraised for his hilarious comedies for years but suspicion and disgust has arisen towards him after the release of Amazon Prime’s “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
The show is a four part series, with the first episode focusing on Schneider’s backstory and the first show he worked on with Nickelodeon, while the following episode dove a little deeper. The episodes shared behind-the-scenes facts about Schneider’s producing tactics, actors’ stories and unsettling news about on set.
My initial reaction to the documentary was excitement to learn about the behind-the-scenes details of so many shows I grew up loving. I have previously heard of allegations against Dan Schneider so I was interested to hear the truth. I think his producer’s backstory, detailing his specific actions and decisions when he first began producing, helped viewers understand how he rose to such power in the network. The show shared his close relationship with the cast members of “All That,” resulting in Amanda Bynes’ “The Amanda Show.” Something Schneider was widely known for by his cast members was his close relationships with female actors, putting all his focus on them and attempting to improve their careers. In his early days, he was extremely close with 10-year-old Katrina Johnson on “All That.” His hyper fixation switched when he was quickly entranced with young Amanda Bynes.
Scenes were brought to attention throughout the show that, looking back, people on the set and viewers believed were inappropriate adult jokes. These jokes were consistent throughout all shows created by Dan Schneider including the Amanda Show, ICarly and Zoey 101. These are jokes that many young viewers would give a second thought, but many parents were quick to judge. These are jokes that I’ve never noticed before and although some of the scenes brought to attention seem a little bit of a stretch, its gross and unsettling to know that a children’s producer made children act out these scenes
The second episode touched on Scneider’s treatment of women on set, particularly screenwriters. Two women who joined the network during the production of “All That” were forced to share salaries due to Schneider’s demands as he continued to fully pay male screenwriters and other males on the network. These women, Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen also shared inappropriate situations Dan put them in in the office such as performing acts of sodomy. It was also shared that Schneider often had sudden, unexpected outbursts of anger specifically at the women for not laughing at his jokes, when he was regularly known as the laidback jokester of the office. I was extremely disturbed to learn about the poor treatment of women behind closed doors. The primary source interviews in this episode as well as all the episodes are an informative way to become educated on the women’s everyday life working for Nickelodeon and dealing with an overbearing producer.
It was even expressed that long-time Nickelodeon actor, Drake Bell, starring on the Amanda show and Drake and Josh, experienced inappropriate behavior from his dialogue coach. Brian Peck had been a long-time favorite for all the cast members and workers on set, always bringing joy, or so it was thought before Bell finally revealed his life-altering story in episode five. I was shocked to hear this as I never had any prior suspicion to that extent of anyone on set. The shows are always fun and lighthearted, I don’t think people thought twice about what could be going on behind closed doors. Bell revealed Peck was always trying to be with Bell, inviting him to his house and requesting Bell sleep over though he was only 15. It was said that Bell didn’t think much of these requests from Peck for a while until things went a little too far. He expressed that Peck repeatedly assaulted him and took advantage of him. Bell had tried to ignore him, but he was too scared to tell anyone until it had gone on for too long and eventually chose to prove Peck guilty.
I think many young adults were disgusted to hear what was going on on shows that gained so much attention. “Quiet on Set” tells the unfortunate truth of what life was really like for many child actors on the Nickelodeon network. My hope is that this show spreads awareness about young children acting on television, and I hope situations like Bell’s as well as Stratton’s and Kilgen’s will never be repeated.
