On March 17, the world was exposed to a docuseries that would change the face of the entertainment world forever. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV depicts the world of child actors who were a part of the Nickelodeon lineup in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In five episodes, the series unveils the abuses of power that happened both on and off the screen for our favorite Nickelodeon actors while staff members of Nickelodeon turned a blind eye to the injustices occurring. It is clear that society needs to make a deliberate effort to change rules regarding children in the entertainment industry.
The main culprit the docuseries exposes is Executive Producer and Screenwriter Daniel Schneider who created beloved television shows like The Amanda Show, iCarly, Drake and Josh and more. Several past coworkers spoke about the sexually-graphic jokes and misogynistic lines he deliberately wrote into his shows. The episodes we once loved so much as kids quickly became unfamiliar and almost disgusting to us. Now, all we will see are the faces of poor, mistreated child actors who were being forced to say inappropriate, sexually-charged lines by a power-hungry, middle-aged man.
Schneider’s search for power manifested off-screen as well. He frequently undermined women in the writing room, calling them humorless or influencing them to act out sexually-inappropriate gestures. Christy Stratton, a writer and producer who worked for Nickelodeon on The Amanda Show from 1999-2002, said in the docuseries that “working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship.” Because the women feared losing their jobs, they abided, sacrificing their own dignity.
Nickelodeon also looked past the behind-the-scenes treatment of the actors. They ignored Schneider’s sexually-explicit comments and ignored child actors working more hours than child labor laws permitted. When Drake Bell from The Amanda Show and Drake and Josh filed a lawsuit claiming sexual assault, Nickelodeon did nothing to try to help him. In the docuseries, Bell speaks out for the first time publicly about the sexual assault he endured from Brian Peck, his former dialogue coach, starting at the age of 15 while working with Nickelodeon. “Imagine the worst things to do to someone during a sexual assault, and that’s what happened,” said Bell.
Nickelodeon should have tried harder to isolate this abuser from children, but instead, after only 16 months in prison and registering as a sex offender, Peck was rehired on Disney Channel’s hit show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, enabling him to put more children at risk.
One positive that we may see come out of this is an increased willingness of child actors to share their story. With time, we hope that more culprits responsible for the mistreatment and molestation of children can be exposed.
This docuseries is only the start of change for the entertainment industry. By addressing the mental and physical safety concerns of these child actors, big names like Nickelodeon might begin to put these aspects before ratings and money. We as a society have to continue to listen to people’s stories and stop ignoring harsh realities; Nickelodeon should be ashamed of what they have ignored in the past.