Biggest Revelations From The Nickelodeon Docuseries, Quiet On Set
This article contains mentions of child abuse, racism, and sexism.
In March 2024, Investigation Discovery premiered a new documentary called "Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV." The four-part docuseries details alleged abuse that occurred at Nickelodeon. It's an uncomfortable watch, causing many millennials to reckon with the fact that the executives behind some of their favorite shows were abusive to their stars. The doc details child sexual abuse, racism, and sexism, all while refusing to shy away from the graphic details.
"Quiet On Set" is difficult to watch in part because the filmmakers chose to include numerous clips of child actors being put in uncomfortable situations. "Zoey 101" star Alexa Nikolas, who participated in the docuseries, told IndieWire that she understands why the footage was included. "I think when you do show the material that Dan [Schneider] made, it does hit a little bit differently," she said. "And I feel like the documentary creators knew that the combination of the testimony and the actual footage itself would be most powerful back-to-back."
The documentary includes shocking revelations about the culture at Nickelodeon in the 1990s and early 2000s, revealing misconduct behind the scenes of beloved shows like "All That," "The Amanda Show," "iCarly," and many more. These are the biggest bombshells to come out of "Quiet On Set."
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
Brian Peck made many young cast members uncomfortable
One of the most difficult parts of watching "Quiet On Set" is the realization that so much abuse was happening out in the open. In fact, the second episode is called "Hidden in Plain Sight." The episode details the insidious way dialogue coach Brian Peck was able to use his job at Nickelodeon to get access to several young performers, at least one of whom he abused.
Many millennials may remember Peck as "Pickle Boy," a character who appeared frequently on "All That" which starred many famous Nickelodeon child stars. As the documentary points out, Pickle Boy's appearances often involved sexual innuendo, including one sequence where he passes a pickle through a hole in a restroom stall to actor Ray Romano. Behind the scenes, Peck made his young co-stars uncomfortable on several occasions. Giovonnie Samuels, who starred in "All That" between 2000 and 2004, recalled that he used to ask her to walk on his back. "Looking at it now, as an adult, that was kind of weird!" she said.
At a party at Peck's house, he proudly showed several child actors that he owned a signed self-portrait of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. "Your instinct is to give someone the benefit of the doubt if you've known them for that long," said "All That" star Kyle Sullivan, "even in the face of like, this really bad sign."
Drake Bell was the anonymous victim of Brian Peck
In 2003, Brian Peck was arrested. The LAPD noted, "The minor's family reported that Peck had molested the child over a six-month period." To protect the victim's privacy, they were not named, nor come forward in the intervening decades.
However, "Quiet On Set" revealed that the victim of Brian Peck's molestation was Drake Bell, star of hugely popular Nickelodeon shows like "The Amanda Show" and "Drake & Josh." Peck began coaching the young actor, which caused his father, Joe Bell, to worry. "Drake would be in the dressing room or something and in would pop Brian," Joe recalled (via Investigation Discovery). "[He'd] just touch Drake. You know, do things that like ... 'Wait a second, what are you doing, Drake can put that on his self.' And the thing is, this is in front of people."
Peck drove a wedge between the father and son, causing Joe to step back from managing Drake's career. Peck then convinced Drake's mother to let him stay over at his house, which is when the abuse occurred. "Imagine the worst thing someone could do to someone as sexual assault. ... I don't know how else to put it," Drake explained, discussing what happened to him for the first time in the docuseries. Peck took on a bigger role in Drake's career, meaning the abuse continued. "It just got worse and worse and worse, and I was just trapped," Drake recalled. "I had no way out."
Many celebs supported Brian Peck
In 2004, Brian Peck pled "no contest" and was convicted and sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. In "Quiet On Set," Drake Bell spoke at length about what it was like to sit in court, looking not only his abuser in the eye but seeing numerous famous people who had shown up to support Peck. "His entire side of the courtroom was full. Full. There were definitely some recognizable faces on that side of the room, and my side was me, my mom, and my brother," Bell recalled (via Investigation Discovery).
"Quiet On Set" revealed that stars like James Marsden, "Saturday Night Live" vet Taran Killam, "Boy Meets World" actor Rider Strong, and more wrote letters in support of Peck. Even Dan Schneider, who is accused of inappropriate behavior, has acknowledged how tough that experience was for Bell. "Of course Drake was devastated that that happened," Schneider said in a video obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Several of the letters have since been published by Yahoo! Marsden, for example, wrote, "I've known Brian for 14 years and never once did I ever see any sign of him being capable of something like this." Strong and co-star Will Friedle addressed their letters on their podcast in 2024, claiming that they weren't told of Peck's actual crimes. "I just sat there wanting to die," Friedle said (via Us Weekly). "It was like, 'What the hell am I doing here?'"
Amanda Bynes had a close relationship with Dan Schneider
Brian Peck was far from the only Nickelodeon employee accused of misbehavior in "Quiet On Set." Much of the docuseries focuses on the on-set behavior of Dan Schneider, the man who created hit Nickelodeon shows like "The Amanda Show," "iCarly," and "Zoey 101." Amanda Bynes didn't participate in the documentary and according to sources who spoke with TMZ, this was because she didn't have the same negative experience while on Nickelodeon as some of her co-stars. Bynes has had a tough time since she was a child star and was even placed under a conservatorship.
Nonetheless, "Quiet On Set" revealed that Schneider took a particular liking to Bynes, at the time one of Nickelodeon's biggest stars. Several cast members recalled that Bynes would often be separated from the rest of the cast, taking private meetings with Schneider. Kate Taylor, a journalist from Business Insider, described one incident where Bynes ran away from home with the assistance of Schneider. "The details are a little bit murky, but we know from sources that the police were involved," Taylor said.
The documentary also revealed that Schneider was intentionally putting Bynes in a sexualized situation by naming one of her characters "Penelope Taynt" which refers to the slang word for perineum. "Dan had said to us in the writers room, 'Don't tell what this word really means,'" writer Jenny Kilgen recalled. "He wanted us to keep that a secret."
Nickelodeon shows were full of innuendos
"Quiet On Set" has caused viewers to reconsider numerous clips from various Nickelodeon shows, including "Victorious," "Zoey 101," and "iCarly." It turns out many of those shows featured their young cast being put in thinly disguised sexualized situations. Ariana Grande seems to have been a frequent target of such jokes; the documentary includes clips of the future pop star pouring water on herself and pretending to "milk" a potato. "There are jokes about being slapped with a sausage," explained journalist Kate Taylor. "There's a joke about being 'on the wood.' You have actors shaking weights in a way that seems very clearly sexual. And these actors, for the most part, are minors."
In another sequence, "Zoey 101" star Jamie Lynn Spears had her face covered in goo. Her fellow child star Alexa Nikolas recalled, "So first it was Dan [Schneider] roaring, laughing, and then everyone kind of giggling. We heard the boys saying, 'It's a *** shot.' And I had no idea what that meant."
In response to these clips, Schneider denied that they were attempts to sexualize the young people on his shows. In a statement published by The Wrap, Schneider emphasized that there were other adults around at all times. "Had there been any scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multilayered scrutiny," the statement said. "Unfortunately, some adults project their adult minds onto kids' shows, drawing false conclusions about them."
The cast didn't enjoy filming On-Air Dare
One section of "Quiet On Set" centers around "On-Air Dare," a recurring Nickelodeon segment that took the "Fear Factor" formula and applied it to children. Cast members from shows like "All That" were invited to take part in frightening, televised challenges, which included things like eating live scorpions and taking baths in tubs filled with fish. Kyle Sullivan, who was on "All That" between 2000 and 2005, said in the docuseries that the show's very concept was wrong. "They were taking something that exists in an adult context like 'Fear Factor,' and like transmogrifying it into kids," he said. "When you do that, it's actually like an inappropriate thing to do."
Bryan Hearne, an "All That" cast member from 2000 to 2002, also spoke about how much he disliked filming "On-Air Dare." Likening the experience to "torture," he recalled one segment that saw producers cover his body in peanut butter before releasing dogs into the studio to lick it off him. "That sounds like some kinda awkward fantasy from some freaky dude. It was really uncomfortable," he recalled. "I didn't like that."
In fact, Hearne said that participating in "On-Air Dare" was his biggest regret from his time at Nickelodeon. "If there's anything on set that I wish I could've yelled, 'Stop, let's not do this. I'm out,' it's the on-air dares," he revealed.
Dan Schneider had employees give him massages on set
Many of Dan Schneider's alleged misbehavior remains alleged. When "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy wrote about her time at Nickelodeon in her memoir, Schneider wasn't mentioned by name; she merely referred to someone as "The Creator." That being said, the "iCarly" creator has admitted to one particular problematic example of his on-set behavior. In "Quiet On Set," numerous cast members and behind-the-scenes Nickelodeon personnel recall seeing Schneider solicit massages from others. The documentary even includes photos of this happening. One costume designer, who remained anonymous while filming their "Quiet On Set" interviews, recalled, "It was almost always a female, and it was often one from the wardrobe department. It was humiliating."
Shortly after "Quiet On Set" was released, Schneider addressed the allegations in a statement to Variety. "Dan deeply regrets asking anyone for neck massages. Though they happened in public settings, he knows this was highly inappropriate and would never happen again." He also addressed the massages in a YouTube interview with BooG!e, the actor who played T-Bo on "iCarly." Schneider said simply, "It was wrong. It was wrong that I ever put anybody in that position ... I'd never do it today, I'm embarrassed that I did it then. I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation."
Kids were made to play a part in racist jokes
As if sexism and child abuse weren't enough, "Quiet On Set" revealed that Nickelodeon sets were a place where racism flourished, too. There's a section of the docuseries all about how white cast members were treated better than the children of color. "All That" cast member Bryan Hearne related one particular experience where he was asked to play "Lil Fetus," the youngest rapper ever. The bodysuit was uncomfortable for the growing boy, and he was also subjected to racist remarks from crew members as the sketch was prepared. "I was referred to as a 'piece of charcoal.' Remarks like that are harmful. They stay with you," he reflected.
Hearne's mother, Tracey Brown, also participated in "Quiet On Set." She recalled being surprised to see her son in a sketch where he was trying to flip Girl Scout cookies on the street. "They set up the scene as if he was selling drugs. And I was like, 'Oh, the Black kid gets to be the crack dealer?'" she said.
Brown ultimately became uncomfortable with the atmosphere on set and felt persecuted for calling it out. "I was complaining too much," she said. "I'd become the oddball." Hearne was let go from "All That," potentially as a result of his mother's objections. "In that moment, he grew up, and his body language showed it," Brown said. "... That's a man that didn't trust his mom anymore. It ruined us."
A production assistant on The Amanda Show was arrested for child pornography
Brian Peck wasn't the only abuser who worked for Nickelodeon to face criminal charges. "Quiet On Set" also details the case of Jason Handy, a production assistant who worked on "The Amanda Show." In the documentary, a woman identified as "MJ," mother of a child star referred to as "Brandi," explained that they met on set and struck up an email correspondence. One day, the emails took a turn, and MJ noticed Brandi run into her room crying after shutting off the computer. Handy, it turned out, had sent her a photo of himself naked. "He said he had sent it to her because he wanted her to see that he was thinking of her," MJ said (via Investigation Discovery). Ultimately, MJ decided not to contact authorities. Instead, she pulled her daughter out of entertainment. "She left the business," MJ said, "and never returned."
In April 2003, mere months before the arrest of Brian Peck, the LAPD announced that Handy had been arrested. "The investigation revealed that Handy was attempting to prey on children at his church, in his neighborhood and over the Internet," the police wrote. "Handy, an employee in the entertainment industry, was using those connections to contact children." When police searched Handy's house, according to "Quiet On Set," they found child pornography and journals where he referred to himself as a pedophile. He was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison.
Women writers were forced to split salaries
Plenty of celebrities have spoken out about sexism in Hollywood, and it seems that Nickelodeon had its fair share of behind-the-scenes misogyny. "Quiet On Set" includes revelations from a writer named Jenny Kilgen, who wrote on the first season of "The Amanda Show." She and another writer, Christy Stratton, experienced several degrading moments while working for Dan Schneider. "Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship," Stratton said, recalling one moment where she was made to bend over the table in the writers' room. She tried to duck the peer pressure, but eventually, she did what she was told to do. "It was probably the wrongest thing I've ever seen happen to a woman in a professional environment, ever," Kilgen reflected.
Kilgen also faced discrimination in the room. "Dan was showing pornography on his computer screen," she said, alleging that she was also asked to massage the producer in exchange for having her writing put on air. "He would always present it like a joke and he would be laughing while he said it," Kilgen allowed. "But you always felt like disagreeing with Dan or standing up for yourself could result in you getting fired."
Kilgen was made to split her salary with another female writer. When she was invited back for the show's second season, she was expected to work part of the season for free, and she wound up walking away from the job.