All The Dark Revelations About Nickelodeon Revealed In Quiet On Set

Content warning: This article contains mentions of alleged sexual assault. There have been rumblings about the disturbing underbelly of Nickelodeon for years. Stars like Jennette McCurdy and Alexa Nikolas have opened up about the not-so-kid-friendly working conditions behind the scenes at the children’s television network. And now, a new docuseries is exposing everything. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV premiered on ID and Max on March 17, interviewing several actors and writers who saw what really happened on the sets run by the network’s one-time golden boy, Dan Schneider.

The primary focus of the doc is Schneider, a writer and producer who got his start on All That before going on to create and showrun some of Nickelodeon’s most memorable hits, including The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, and Sam & Cat. In 2018, Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider over what was later revealed to be an investigation into verbal abuse on his sets. But according to the doc, there’s much more to the story.

In Quiet on Set, many people who worked closely with Schneider alleged he created a disturbing environment at Nickelodeon, which often crossed a line sexually both behind the scenes and even in elements of his shows.

After the first two parts of the four-part docuseries aired, Schneider issued a response to the claims made against him.

“Everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network,” a spokesperson for Schneider said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on March 18. “Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny. Remember, all stories, dialogue, costumes, and makeup were fully approved by network executives on two coasts. A standards and practices group read and ultimately approved every script, and programming executives reviewed and approved all episodes. In addition, every day on every set, there were always parents and caregivers and their friends watching filming and rehearsals.”

Here are the most shocking revelations in Quiet on Set.

1. Amanda Bynes Allegedly Replaced An Older All That Star, Whom Producers Called “Too Fat”

Katrina Johnson, an original cast member on All That, recalled in Quiet on Set how Schneider had originally brought up the idea of giving her a spinoff called The Katrina Johnson Show. However, as Johnson grew up on All That, she said producers would make comments that she was getting “too fat,” and they “freaked out” when she went through puberty and started to look too mature.

Johnson referred to Bynes as “the younger version” of herself, who was brought in to replace her both on All That and in the planned spinoff, which became The Amanda Show.

2. Characters & Scenes Were Allegedly Purposefully Sexual

Various All That cast members and Amanda Show writers recalled how the shows would sneak in overtly sexual references, including several ejaculation and masturbation jokes performed by children. Two writers for The Amanda Show said Schneider named one of Bynes’ characters Penelope Taynt as a reference to genitalia.

All That star Leon Frierson spoke about how he was uncomfortable constantly having to wear leotards, particularly when playing a nose-themed superhero with insignias that resembled genitals. Multiple people featured in Quiet on Set spoke about Schneider’s love of dirty jokes, and how he’d like to try to hide adult references in his shows.

3. Drake Bell Was Sexually Assaulted By All That & Amanda Show Dialogue Coach

Brian Peck, who worked alongside Schneider as a dialogue coach on All That and The Amanda Show, was arrested for lewd acts against a child in 2003. It wasn’t until the new docuseries that Drake Bell stepped forward to reveal that he’s the person who filed the case against Peck. Bell recalled he felt “trapped” with “no way out” of the situation, saying Peck’s “mental manipulation” deeply affected him.

He went into detail about how Peck separated him from his father, who had been his manager up to that point, and then started taking him to auditions himself. These trips would often end with Bell sleeping on Peck’s couch. Bell said he woke up once to Peck sexually assaulting him, and didn’t know how to handle it because Peck had convinced Bell’s mom to trust him.

The situation worsened, with Bell describing just how bad it got to the cameras: “Think about the worst stuff someone can do to somebody as sexual assault, and that'll answer your question.”

Bell finally worked up the nerve to report Peck to the police after his girlfriend’s mom brought him to therapy after she picked up on Peck’s controlling behaviors.

4. The Amanda Show’s Women Writers Were Allegedly Humiliated & Not Paid Fairly

Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen, the only two female writers on The Amanda Show, recalled how Schneider would constantly talk about how women aren’t funny, and degrade them with humiliating pranks, like paying them to quickly eat cartons of ice cream or making them act out sexual scenarios while pitching ideas.

Stratton and Kilgen soon learned they were making half what their male counterparts were being paid, and filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the show after leaving.

5. An Amanda Show Extra Was Allegedly Sexually Harassed By A P.A.

The mother of a former child star named Brandi recalled how after her pre-teen daughter appeared on The Amanda Show as an extra, one of the show’s production assistants began sending her inappropriate emails. One email allegedly included a photo of the P.A., named Jason Handy, naked and in a sex act. Handy was arrested in 2003 for lewd acts with children.

6. Amanda Bynes’ Relationship With Dan Schneider Was Allegedly Uncomfortably Close

Members of the All That and Amanda Show team said that Bynes and Schneider became inseparable on set. Frierson said Bynes would frequently skip the All That cast’s schooling sessions to pitch ideas to Schneider, and that she would often give him neck massages on set. The doc also highlighted disturbing sketches involving the two, like when they appeared in a jacuzzi together and Schneider joked that he’d written the scene to create this scenario.

Schneider was also allegedly a part of Bynes’ rift with her parents during her teenage years. When she tried to get legally emancipated from her parents at 16 while working on the Schneider co-created show What I Like About You, Bynes reportedly turned to Schneider for help in the process.

7. On-Air Dare Was Traumatic For Several Cast Members

All That star Bryan Hearne said that the most traumatic segments for himself and his co-stars was when they had to appear on On-Air Dare, a spinoff series meant to be a children’s version of Fear Factor. The show forced the kids into genuinely scary and humiliating positions, like putting a live scorpion in their mouth or being covered in peanut butter and having dogs lick them clean. Looking back, Hearne and his co-stars felt that this should not have been a show for children.