Hollywood can seem so glitzy and glamorous, especially when you’re a kid. While some children want to be firefighters or astronauts, some want to be actors and work hard to make that dream happen. The problem that sometimes comes is the adults who are supposed to protect children and their dreams do not live up to their obligation. This week, the Investigation Discovery channel (ID) and the streaming platform Max aired a true-crime documentary that details the hidden traumas of former child stars of the hit children’s network, Nickelodeon.
Split across four episodes, the documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV exposes the past racism, sexism, and sexual assault experienced on and off set while predominately revealing the trauma caused by two male figures – Dan Schneider and Brian Peck. Among the faces of the interviewees were nearly every teen star (now all adults) that we grew up watching on shows such as Drake & Josh, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, and All That.
Noticeably absent from the interviews are cast members from three of Dan Schneider’s popular TV shows Victorious, Kenan & Kel, and iCarly. However, while not present, Jennette McCurdy (iCarly) appears in past interview footage and is discussed along with the other footage Quiet on Set had from the different shows including never-before-seen behind-the-scenes clips and photos.
While the first episode discusses the experiences of various people from Schneider’s shows such as Giovonnie Samuels, Bryan Hearne, Katrina Johnson, Kyle Sullivan, Christy Stratton, and Jenny Kilgen, the second one has more of an emphasis on Amanda Bynes who while not present, was also an alleged victim of Dan Schneider. However, it is the penultimate episode and the finale that exposes the true evil underbelly of Kids TV as Drake Bell bravely reveals himself as the victim of Brian Peck. Peck had sexually assaulted and abused Drake “extensively and repeatedly,” and it was due to Drake that Brian was finally arrested (though he only received a disgusting sentence of 16 months).
While dark and informative, Quiet on Set also provides a chance for so many people to come forward, including some participants in the series like Alexa Nicholas (Zoey 101). The series allows viewers to quickly understand that the shows we grew up to love and the network we so often praised played a part in such terrible acts (even by looking the other way), while the actors involved aren’t mere celebrities, they are survivors.
As a longtime viewer who often returns to the previously mentioned television shows for the nostalgic feel they bring, there now looms this big question. Do we support the shows to support the actors, or do we let the shows fade into obscurity for good? One thing that’s become quite clear is that iCarly, Victorious, Zoey 101, or frankly any of Dan’s shows that were created after the early seasons of All That, should have never existed. When Jenny Kilgen (one of only two women writers in the first season of The Amanda Show) filed the first lawsuit, that should have been the end of Schneider’s reign.
Then Tracey Brown (mother of Bryan Hearne) or Joe Bell (father of Drake Bell) wouldn’t have had to risk – and ultimately lose – so much to speak up. It was a choice to continue to employ a man who’d already done unspeakable things, and it was a worse choice to not do proper background checks that allowed three sexual predators to work. A series of bad choices and the result was that the kids – the people who were supposed to be protected the most – lost their careers and more importantly their innocence when they were trying to protect and preserve everyone else’s. Hollywood can be so glitzy and glamorous…until it’s not.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV does a great job of showcasing this as we’re suddenly snapped out of the clouds and hit with the reality that nothing was as it seemed. While the back and forth between the different years of the incidents wasn’t as clear as if it had been a chronological exploration, the documentary still manages to succeed in structurally telling the story of each person who agreed to an interview. A four-part series was just enough to provide insight without sacrificing pace and most importantly, the stories were told tastefully so as not to prevent other survivors from coming forward.
Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV is now available to stream on Max.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvyULepxgw4]
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV does a great job of showcasing this as we’re suddenly snapped out of the clouds and hit with the reality that nothing was as it seemed.
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Joretta believes in adding flair to whatever she writes. When she’s not writing the latest series or movie review, she’s defying the status quo in her screenplays. Her dream is to create projects for television that are pop culture-relevant yet timeless. In the meantime, to admire – and procrastinate – she’ll enjoy writing about yours.
