The “Quiet on Set” docu-series delved into the problematic working environment of Nickelodeon. Following the initial broadcast in March, a bonus episode was released on April 7.
The documentary centered on Dan Schneider, who created many shows for Nickelodeon, like “iCarly,” “Victorious,” “Drake & Josh,” “The Amanda Show” and “Zoey 101.” It revealed racism, sexism, harassment, verbal abuse and emotional abuse committed by Schneider on sets. He left the network in 2018 due to his scandals and habits, according to theweek.com.
“You always felt like disagreeing with Dan or standing up for yourself could result in you getting fired,” writer on “The Amanda Show” Jenny Kilgen said in the docu-series.
Schneider would also include sexual references in his shows. For example, in “Victorious,” Ariana Grande’s character, Cat, was seen squeezing a potato and trying to milk it. Additionally, there was a scene of her pouring water all over herself at different angles. Other scenes in “Victorious” include being slapped with a sausage and shaking weights inappropriately. “Zoey 101,” “All That,” “The Amanda Show” and more have also had many sexual innuendos, according to vulture.com.
In addition to the allegations against Schneider, there were many instances from other individuals including sexual misconduct, the sexualization of children and pervasive harassment.
Jason Handy, a production assistant on “The Amanda Show” and “All That,” served six years in prison for committing lewd acts on children and for distributing sexually-explicit material. For example, he would send children sexually-explicit photos. In 2014, he was arrested again for committing similar acts and will remain in prison until 2038, according to businessinsider.com.
“[Brandi] was sitting at the computer, and she had suddenly shut the computer down completely and got up and ran into her bedroom,” MJ, mother of the child-star Brandi, said in the docu-series. “She had gotten an email from Jason. It was a picture of him naked. He said he wanted her to see that he was thinking of her.”
Brian Peck, a dialogue coach on the same shows, was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in 2004. Peck served 16 months in prison and has since been working on other projects. The identity of the child was kept hidden until the release of “Quiet on Set,” where Drake Bell spoke publicly about the abuse and assault he endured, according to businessinsider.com.
“The abuse was extensive,” Bell said in the docu-series. “It got pretty brutal. Think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault. I don’t know how else to put it. It was not a one-time thing.”
After the documentary aired, Schneider broke his silence by doing an interview with Bobby Bowman, who played T-Bo on “iCarly,” where he addressed his actions and the way he treated staff and actors.
“There are definitely things that I would do differently,” Schneider said in the interview. “The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious, and I’m sorry that I ever was.”
