Skylar Savarin

From an absurd amount of foot jokes to Ariana Grande pretending to milk a potato with two hands, the world of Nickelodeon carries a shady history full of pedophilia, sexism and child manipulation. In a five-episode long docuseries, producers Emma Schwartz and Mary Robertson interviewed many victims from shows like “The Amanda Show,” “All That,” “Drake and Josh” and “iCarly.” Several cast members from these shows shared their experiences with Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider as well as other production members, like dialogue coach Brian Peck.
“Quiet on Set” laid out a long list of Schneider’s allegations, like humiliating female employees, creating uncomfortable situations for young stars with bikinis and leotards, having inappropriate interactions with child actors and forcing children to perform skits laced with sexual innuendos. Kids’ TV exploits children, leading them down unhealthy paths, and leaves a detrimental emotional impact on their upbringing. After years of abuse, these child actors grow up to have serious mental and social issues, as they never experienced what a normal childhood is like.
One of the biggest reveals on the show was Drake Bell, one of the titular stars from “Drake and Josh,” exposing his repetitive experience with sexual assault for the very first time. He discussed the assault by Brian Peck, who was “convicted in 2004 of a lewd act against child and oral copulation of a person under 16.” Bell explained that the abuse began when Peck offered to drive him to his auditions. Sometimes he would have multiple days of auditions in a row, and Peck would suggest that Bell stay the night at his house. One day, when Bell was 15, he woke up on a couch and was being sexually assaulted by Peck.
Another account of sexual assault and child pedophilia came from child star Brandi Carlile from “All That.” Production assistant Jason Handy sent Carlile explicit images of him masturbating to her email with a message saying, “thinking of you.” Eventually, when the police searched his house, they found a large amount of child pornography photos — over 10,000 images of various types of sexually explicit content.
Schneider also had questionable interactions with young stars like Amanda Bynes from “The Amanda Show.” After wanting to be emancipated from her parents, Bynes relied on Schneider as her only source of support, as she wanted to grow up and be a full-time star.
“Quiet on Set” uncovered several uncomfortable moments Schneider had with Bynes, including documentation of them performing a scene in a hot tub and instances where Schneider would work with Bynes into the night rather than letting her do her schoolwork with the other child actors on set.
In addition to sexual assault allegations, Nickelodeon producers oversaw an atmosphere of sexism on set. The program starring Amanda Bynes, “The Amanda Show,” consisted of two female writers, Jenny Kilgen and Christy Stratton, who were forced to split a single salary for their work, while the men received additional pay. Kilgen also revealed that she was forced to watch pornography, and Stratton expressed that while she was presenting an idea at the writers’ table, someone pretended to have intercourse with her.
“Quiet on Set” acts as an exposé of Nickelodeon’s disturbing history regarding the victimization of children. A prominent issue is the lack of enforcement of child work laws. These children were overworked for weeks on end, forced to grow up too quickly and had a warped experience growing up. This extends to other forms of media like TikTok and YouTube where young stars emerge, leading to risks of exploitation and danger.
With the rise of social media, children like the Nickelodeon stars are more consistently put into dangerous situations, pressured to perform online and keep up a character in the public eye. Robertson and Schwartz used this documentary to bring awareness to the toxic environment TV sets create for children and uncover the truth behind child stardom.