If you watched Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101, iCarly, Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show, you undoubtedly grew up in the early 2000s — but what you may not know is that one man, Dan Schneider, created them all and is now the subject of the docu-series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV.
**CONTENT WARNING: This article references sexual harassment and/or assault and may be triggering to some readers.**
The new doco details allegations of toxic and alleged predatory behaviour on set, including “abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew.”
While the series is yet to be released in Australia (it will be available on Binge from April 5 with a double episode and will continue on April 6 with the final two episodes), at the time of publication, it has already premiered in the US, with some explosive revelations.
iCarly star Jennette McCurdy’s memoir inspired the docuseries
Directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz revealed that iCarly and Sam & Cat star, Jeannette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, inspired them to look further after the book detailed a series of troubling on-set occurrences.
In addition to this, Business Insider’s Kate Taylor had also investigated the claims while concerned audiences had created YouTube compilations highlighting inappropriate behaviours from Schneider’s television productions.
“In many of these clips, there was behaviour that arguably could be characterised as quite sexual in nature and featured children,” Robertson said.
“Some of these clips included Ariana Grande leaning off the side of the bed, pouring water on her chest and her face in a manner that is arguably sexual. Jamie Lynn Spears, who was then a teenager, a young teenager, receiving a squirt of this viscous substance sort of glue like on her face. Or Ariana Grande, squeezing a potato in a manner that many felt was quite sexual.”
Amanda Bynes was the “favourite”
Amanda Bynes was discovered at the Comedy Factory doing a kid’s comedy routine when Schneider discovered her.
Given he thought she would be a big star, he spent more and more time with her. It was also alleged that Amanda’s father allowed this to happen as they were crafting her career.
“It was her big break and it was Dan Schneider’s big break, and it was the first time Dan Schneider’s name was listed as a creator. This gave him a whole new level of control and power and there would be consequences to that later on.”
The directors reached out to hundreds of people and many were eager to talk
“We had spreadsheets with hundreds of names on them,” Schwartz said during the documentary.
“We reached out to as many people as possible, many of whom, even if they weren’t ready to speak, were really excited that somebody was actually going to take this seriously. They’ve seen attempts before that had never really landed.”
Production assistant John Handy’s conviction
In 2004, former Nickelodeon production assistant, John Handy, pleaded no contest to two felony counts, including lewd acts on a child and distributing sexually explicit material.
He was only given six years in prison, before being arrested again in 2014 on charges including indecent liberties with a child and sex offender registry violations.
It was also revealed that he sent an explicit image of himself to an 11-year-old named Brandi on The Amanda Show.
Her mother MJ said: “I said, ‘Brandi, what is wrong?’ She started to cry and she said, ‘I got an email from Jason.’ It was a picture of him naked, masturbating. He said he sent to her because he wanted her to see he was thinking of her.”
Drake Bell opened up about the sexual abuse he experienced
Drake & Josh’s Drake Bell featured in the documentary, opening up for the first time about the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck (whom is no relation to Bell’s co-star Josh Peck).
Peck worked closely with Schneider until he was convicted of child abuse in 2004, where served only 16 months in prison and was made to join the sex offender registry.
“The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal …why don’t you think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault, and that will answer the question,” Bell revealed.
In 2006, following his prison sentence, Peck was once again hired to work on children’s television, now working for Disney on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Gender discrimination and a hostile work environment
Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen were the only female writers working on Schneider’s The Amanda Show.
According to the former staffers, they were made to split a single salary and alleged that Schneider would show his employees pornography and verbally abuse staff.
After reporting the conditions to the writers guild, Kilgen claimed that Schneider threatened her.
At the end of the first season, Stratton was fired and Kilgen tendered her resignation a few days into the second one due to Schneider allegedly accusing her of being a sex worker.
Kilgen then sued the production company for gender discrimination; however, Schneider continued his tenure for another 18 years.
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