A Long-Time Nickelodeon Fan’s Reaction to Investigation Discovery’s “Quiet on Set”
When I was a kid growing up in the 90s and 00s, there were three things you could do after school instead of homework: go outside and play with friends, play video games, or watch TV. And up until the age of ten (and not counting Kids WB), there was only one place I’d go to watch shows: Nickelodeon. The Nicktoons line-up remained a consistent part of my diet for years, but once I hit my tweens, I started watching more of their live-action comedies. And when it came to live-action, no one was better at delivering the laughs than Dan Schneider.
I watched most of Dan’s shows, from reruns of The Amanda Show to Victorious. They helped shape my childhood and most of my sense of humor, and to this day, I still hold fond memories of them. Dan Schneider seemed like one of the secrets behind Nickelodeon’s success: their golden boy. That status only made it harder in 2018 when the public learned what it was like for the people working under him. And, like many, my admiration of Schneider turned to disdain.
In the six years since his ousting from Nickelodeon, I have become more aware of what Schneider was like. I’ve seen the videos and heard what his former writers, directors, and actors have said. And just as important, I know how many of those former child actors have turned out. However, I still didn’t truly grasp how bad things were under him. I don’t think most people grasped that until the recent release of Investigation Discovery’s docuseries Quiet on Set. Now that I have, though, I have a few things to say.
Spoiler alert: most of them aren’t good.
Dan Schneider Didn’t Know When to Adult
While watching the first episode of Quiet on Set, I took mental notes on how people talked about Dan Schneider’s early days. According to the interviewees, Dan was this fun, lovable goofball when he started at Nick. He pulled pranks, would make people laugh, and tried to ensure everyone had fun. If that makes him sound like he was one of the kids, then it sounds right. He was a kid at heart, which would explain why he was so good at writing things that made kids laugh. He knew what they would think was funny and what they wouldn’t. However, as the docuseries went on, what people said about him clarified why this wasn’t always a good thing for someone in his position.
As the series went on, interviewees shared their experiences under Dan Schneider and cemented how many of the allegations were true, and I came to a conclusion. Schneider may have seen himself as one of the kids, but eventually, he became a manchild. A manchild that would bully, threaten, and do everything he could to get his way. And he didn’t just limit this behavior to adults. If statements from Jennette McCurdy and Alexa Nikolas are anything to go by, he could treat them the same way. As the one who was ultimately responsible for their well-being as minors, that’s the last thing you want in an authority figure.
I also consider myself a kid at heart. My high school class even voted me “forever young.” And while I’ve learned how important it is to keep that inner child alive as I get older, I’ve also learned something else. There will be times when you have to step up, whether you like it or not, especially when those times involve the welfare of kids and teens. And Schneider must not have gotten the memo on that because he failed—miserably.
Jason Handy and Brian Peck: ENEMY TO ALL KIDS
Speaking of failing to protect the kids under him, it would’ve been bad enough if Dan was guilty of just that. Thanks to that, some didn’t have an easy transition to adulthood. What makes it even worse, though, is the revelation that there were at least two sexual predators employed on the show. And were allowed near the children!
Thanks to Twitter, I had already been spoiled about some details. However, seeing the brief information on social media and first-hand accounts in the docuseries was different. Hearing what Jason Handy and Brian Peck did to kids is every parent’s worst nightmare.
Jason Handy Deserves to Be in Jail
The first guilty party is Jason Handy. From what people initially said of him, he sounds like the cool older brother that every kid would want. He’s the friend you want to visit daily to play video games or watch movies with. His friendly nature fooled everyone.
Then I heard about him emailing a picture of himself naked and getting off to one of the girls who got a part on The Amanda Show. That girl never went back. This man destroyed any dreams she had of being an actor. It’s bad enough that people can get unsolicited naked pics from someone; never do that without consent! But to send that to a minor? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When the police arrested him, they found he had a stash of hundreds of creepy mementos from kids!
What makes things worse is that, even after serving six years in prison and being run out of Hollywood, Jason repeated his crimes. In 2014, he got arrested in North Carolina for doing this again! At least this time, he’ll be in jail for a long time. According to reports, he’ll be in prison until 2038.
Brian Peck Deserved Worse for What He Did to Drake.
I can’t even begin to describe how painful it was, spoilers or not, to watch Drake try to open up about the horror Brian put him through. The way he isolated Drake from his Dad made him dependent on him and then scared him into keeping quiet until he finally let everything burst out. My jaw dropped when I heard Brian try to get the part of the Dad on Drake & Josh to stay close to Drake. The man might as well have been the devil himself to Drake. The fact that he got off with less than two years in prison is nothing short of a travesty.
I grew up watching Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon. I love Drake’s music, and despite the trouble he’s gotten into in recent years, I never really thought he was a bad person at heart. I just thought that his behavior resulted from being exposed to the stresses of being a celebrity at a young age and being unable to find a healthy way to talk about it and cope. As it turns out, it was because of something far worse: the kind of trauma that no one should have to go through, yet far too many are subjected to. It may not change the fact that he repeated the cycle of abuse with another minor; nothing can change that. However, after hearing what he went through, I think many people now understand Drake’s behavior more and genuinely want to see him get better, including his former co-star, Josh Peck.
Since Drake & Josh ended, Josh Peck hasn’t had an easy life, either. He had to work on his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Furthermore, in a podcast, he said he was no longer friends with Drake. Despite this, in a recent TikTok, Drake revealed that Josh had privately contacted him and told him he was there if he needed someone to talk to.
Also, this.
No Prize for Basic Decency
According to the docuseries, Dan Schneider’s reactions to Jason and Brian’s actions were mixed. On the one hand, it sounds like he talked about what Jason did with the kids but then tried to move on without addressing it further. On the other hand, Drake revealed that after he heard about what Brian did to him, Dan had reached out to him personally to see if he was alright. The docuseries makes it sound like Dan Schneider was just as appalled as everyone else was about Brian Peck’s actions. Other statements have had him say the revelation about Brian was the lowest point of his career. So, Dan does have standards.
That doesn’t absolve him, though. While there’s no guarantee that this wouldn’t have happened if he had done more to look out for his child actors’ welfare, that doesn’t change the fact that he should’ve done that. At the very least, having him do a better job looking out for their well-being might have discouraged these perverts from acting. Instead, he failed to do that. He failed on so many levels.
Dan Schneider, Don’t Come Back to TV
I don’t know what to think after watching Quiet on Set. I already considered Dan Schneider a dirtbag for years after hearing what people like Jennette McCurdy had to say about him. All the series did was confirm that it was as bad as the people who worked under him said it was. At this point, my disappointment in him could not get any greater.
Yet he still says he’s sorry.
No, really. Hours after the docuseries ended, he released a video on YouTube showing himself being interviewed by the guy who played T-Bo on iCarly. He expressed regret, embarrassment, and shame about seeing his past behavior thrown back at him. Yet not a lot of people buy that he is sorry? And what do I think? Simple: I don’t care.
Maybe Dan Schneider is sorry for who he was at Nickelodeon. Maybe seeing how other people talk about his behavior and past actions thrown back in his face made him realize how much of a jerk he became. But being sorry isn’t enough here. He will have to spend the rest of his life atoning for his actions and doing right by all the people he negatively impacted. Even if he does that, I don’t think he should return to TV. His time as the king of kids’ TV is over, and he should acknowledge that and bow out with whatever grace he has left.
Beginning of the End for Nickelodeon?
As for Nickelodeon, whatever effect Quiet on Set has on its future remains to be seen. In the immediate aftermath, though, the consensus on Twitter is essentially the same:
As much as I loved Nick growing up, I eventually got to the point where I stopped watching it regularly. Most of the shows I watched growing up ended, and the ones that kept going, like SpongeBob, had seen a drop in quality that it’s still working on. And I didn’t like how much focus they put on live-action over animation as time passed. However, Quiet on Set will be a heavy blow to Nick’s reputation. Some people are already saying that the docuseries might be the beginning of the end for the once-great kids network. Case in point, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor, two actors on Dan’s shows, have unfollowed them on social media.
I hope that it isn’t the end of Nickelodeon. Even if I lost much interest in it in the 2010s, I still hold too many fond memories of Nick to want to see it die. They need to do much better from here on out, but I don’t want them to burn to the ground. And more importantly, they should focus on what put them on the map: the Nicktoons.
Also, if Nickelodeon goes under, that could mean the end of Avatar, and I don’t want to see that happen.
I Still Can’t Hate the Shows.
And where does that leave the shows that Dan Schneider created? We should love art but hate artists. Yeah, Dan Schneider is a dirtbag. But no matter how much I don’t like him, I can’t bring myself to hate what he created. Despite how bad it might have been for many of them, many talented people poured their hearts into making his shows great. And it’s not just the actors, either. Writers, directors, and all the other people who weren’t dirtbags worked hard to make his shows the icons I remember them as. And I can’t bring myself to hate them!
In one moment with Drake Bell in the third episode, he stood out to me. He said that a few weeks after Brian Peck’s arrest, he started shooting for Drake & Josh. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“Thank God that I loved what I was doing. When I was on set and doing a scene with Josh, I was able to lose myself and have fun.”
Quiet on Set
My takeaway is that getting to be on Drake & Josh, while it didn’t help his mental state, did help him in the immediate aftermath. It kept him sane in a time that could’ve destroyed him. And while he did get worse since the show ended, at least he’s working to better himself now.
So yeah, much bad came from what Dan Schneider created and how his actions affected people. But now that everyone knows about it, some good can come out. The people who suffer can openly get the help they need. And more importantly, this might lead to higher standards for the well-being of children in show business. Professional therapists should be present to help actively help kids who could go through what these people did. People should be able to speak out without fear if they don’t feel comfortable. Kids who dream of being stars should be able to do so without worrying about being manipulated by the people they should be able to trust. More good can come out of this madness and discord if we do that.
If you guys want to learn more about the lives of the actors on his shows, go read (or listen to) the memoir of Josh Peck, Happy People Annoy Me. Or try out Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died.
