Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a four-part tell-all docuseries that aired this week on ID, and is available to stream on various services. The series details sexual abuse and workplace harassment centering around child actors working for Nickelodeon's hit TV shows in the late '90s and into the 2000s.
RedState has long covered the Nickelodeon scandals, bringing the story into the forefront of media as far back as 2017, as the abuses were unveiled in the wake of the #MeToo movement and Hollywood's revelations about Harvey Weinstein. This early coverage includes the initially reported allegations of the powerful and hit-making Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider.
Schneider created The Amanda Show, All That, iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, and Drake & Josh and more during his wildly successful and disturbing tenure at Nickelodeon.
Read More: The Next Big Hollywood Sex Scandal is Already Breaking...at Nickelodeon
While stories of child star abuse are not new, the docuseries presented first-ever details that are harrowing and emotionally compelling for adult audiences. I recommend the series for adults due to the gripping way in which the abusive dynamics are conveyed. The storytelling builds and grows much like the dynamics of real-life abuse, making the presentation so important. The series offers viewpoints from child actors, their parents, writers, and production staff of the kids' shows who share their experiences dealing with workplace toxicity and abuse.
Spoiler alert: this review covers content presented in the docuseries.
The series begins by covering working conditions on Schneider's first breakout show, All That, a children's sketch comedy series based on the Saturday Night Live concept. Schneider's creations appeared to push the envelope with sometimes gross acts portrayed as comedic, which in retrospect appear to be adult sexual humor. This content included infamous foot scenes that appear as a personal fetish and hallmark of Schneider's work and scenes that include the use of phallic props.
One sketch included in the show, On-Air Dares, put the child actors into circumstances more similar to torture than comedy including placing a scorpion in a child's mouth, putting a child into a bath filled with worms, and suspending a child actor in the air and dunking his head into a vat of wet dog food. Some of the most disturbing revelations are that many abuses weren't hidden at all, but aired on the children's TV channel under the guise of entertainment.
During this episode, various former child actors recall their discomfort with certain situations written into their scripts, overworking in violation of child labor laws, and the inability to push back due to the power imbalance of being children employed for adults. Black actors also speak of feeling disfavored on the set, while their characters often played out racial stereotypes. Parents express their reluctance to complain about working conditions due to the favoritism and the hierarchies created by Schneider's Jekyll and Hyde personality and seemingly unilateral control of the productions. A fear of retaliation and lost opportunities was shared among the actors, their parents, and even employees in Schneider's orbit.
Several former child actors have revealed how the intimidation on set and the subsequent rejection of being cut from the show affected their self-esteem. One such example is Katrina Johnson, a star on the show, who was edged out due to her weight and looking mature after going through puberty. Johnson remembers the words producers told her parents, "She can't be the fat one," which have had a lasting impact on her self-confidence. Following her exit, the younger child star Amanda Bynes rose to fame. Bynes first featured in All That sketches before landing a leading role in her own show.
The saga of the Amanda Show begins with women being discriminated against in the writer's room. Two women, Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen were made to share a salary and endure intimidation, sexual harassment, and humiliation tactics. Kilgen alleges that Schneider showed the writers pornography and repeatedly asked her and other females working on the set for massages. Schneider is portrayed as having an extreme and derogatory bias against women, which resulted in the pair of writers bringing a lawsuit against him.
It is unsettling that the women working on a show featuring a female child star were mistreated, which begs the question: How can children be protected if adult employees face workplace abuse? Of course, they aren't.
As the series progresses, a child who appeared in one episode of the Amanda Show, only identified as Brandi, strikes up a mentorship with production assistant Jason Handy through email. After what seemed like innocent exchanges initially, Handy sent a sexually explicit nude photograph.
Brandi's mother retells the incident, saying,
[Brandi] was sitting at the computer, and all of a sudden, I noticed she had suddenly shut down the computer completely and got up and ran into her bedroom and slammed the bedroom door shut.
After learning from a tearful young Brandi what had transpired, Brandi's mother struggled to decide on a course of action, ultimately not contacting the police but keeping her daughter from interacting with the predatory Handy. She says,
I went back and forth with, Should I call the police? They're gonna think I'm a bad parent because I allowed her to talk to this person. I struggled with this.
Later, authorities would raid Handy's home after he was accused of inappropriate kissing and touching of a 9 year-old-girl. During that search, thousands of explicit photos of minors were discovered, along with plastic sandwich bags Handy kept with girls' names on them and "tokens" collected from each child placed inside. Brandi's emails were found in one of these bags, leading law enforcement to make contact with her family. Brandi would go on to testify as a witness, leading to Handy's conviction and six-year prison sentence for these crimes.
As Bynes was growing up and transitioning from a child star to a teenage actress in the public eye, Schneider, who was working with and developed a close relationship with her, tried to help her become legally emancipated from her parents, but was not successful. Viewed through a wider lens, these circumstances starting on the set of The Amanda Show, including the separation of children and parents, are presented as missed red flags and a precursor to the growth of these dangerous dynamics being laid for unsuspecting child victims.
By episode three, audiences learn the shocking details behind Drake Bell's interactions with now-convicted child sexual abuser Brian Peck, a dialogue coach on Schneider's shows, who was arrested just four months after Handy. Bell, who rose to fame for his role in Drake & Josh, gives his account for the first time publicly, after being an unnamed child victim in the criminal case.
Of all the abusive storylines covered through the series, Bell's stands out as a clear demonstration of how a predator can integrate themselves into a child victim's life. By the final episode, on display is the lifelong suffering endured by not only Bell but his parents who played into roles and family dynamics that Peck carefully orchestrated to be closer to his victim. The predatory calculation and progression of the relationship is exactly why adult viewers should watch the series to gain protective insights.
The first five-alarm fire that went unmitigated is revealed by All That actor Kyle Sullivan, detailing his attendance at a party in Peck's home where he noticed a painting of a clown holding a balloon. Peck eagerly showed Sullivan, and later all the party guests, that on the back of the painting was a note addressed to him from the artist.
It said,
To Brian, I hope you enjoy the painting. Best Wishes. Your friend, John Wayne Gacy.
Peck went on to pull letters from his bedside drawer, revealing his pen-pal relationship with the clown-portraying serial killer who took the lives of at least 33 men and boys.
Sullivan describes the experience as, "one of those classic failures of group psychology."
Less jolting behaviors appeared with Peck hosting Bell's 15th birthday party in his home as a 'convenient location' for the teen's studio friends or taking trips together to Disneyland. Driving a wedge between Bell and his father Joe was instrumental in Peck's predatory process, as Joe was suspicious of Peck's behaviors and protective of his son, as expressed in the clip below.
Joe Bell explains,
And unfortunately, I started seeing Brian just hang around Drake too much, and it didn't sit well with me. Drake could be in the dressing room or something and in would pop Brain and just... touch Drake... you know, do things that, 'Wait a second, what are you doing? Drake can put that on himself.'
Later, Peck would take on transporting duties of Bell to his auditions after driving his father out of a managerial role in his son's career. Those auditions would turn into overnights at Peck's home, leading to Bell's brutal and repeated assaults.
Bell's retelling of attending Peck's sentencing hearing paints the system of industry protection surrounding his predator, and the isolation he endured as a young victim. Bell says,
It's the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen, 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. Brian had been convicted but getting all of this support from people in the industry. And yeah, I was pretty shocked.
Bell didn't address his assailant while giving his victim impact statement in court but directed his words at the adults in the room who came in support of his abuser, saying,
I addressed my statement to everyone in the room. I looked at all of them and I said, 'How dare you?' And I said, 'You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom and defending this person, and I will forever have the memory of the person you're defending violating me and doing unspeakable acts and crimes... and that's what I'll remember.'
A total of 41 individuals submitted letters of support for Peck, aiming to sway the judge's decision during the sentencing phase. Some of the people who wrote letters in support of the convicted child sex predator, continued to work at Nickelodeon on set with Bell, unbeknownst to him. Peck was sentenced to a measly 16 months in jail in 2004. After his sentence, Peck would still find his way working on kid's TV shows, including Disney's The Suite Life of Zach and Cody.
In the final episode, viewers are confronted with Nickelodeon's belated ouster of Schneider as nearly two decades of misconduct culminate in relics of childhood turned to burdens carried by the parties involved. Schneider was given a $7 million severance when he exited Nickelodeon. While this series downplays rumors of Schneider's alleged relationships with minors which have circulated, it did highlight inappropriate closeness that led to the speculation. Schneider's power-drunken tenue is filled with salacious jokes that exploit children in scenarios that are adult in nature while pelting hostility, degradation, and intimidation toward employees, both minors and adult staff. Schneider's behaviors fostered an environment where children were preyed upon as protective adults were routinely disempowered.
After the series aired, Schneider issued another apology for some of his past behaviors. He acknowledged that he made women give him massages on set, which he now regrets. Additionally, he expressed his support for editing out any controversial scenes from the kids' shows, which may be deemed inappropriate for reruns.
I'm not a person who enjoys shock-value entertainment. It's not the facts of the abuse which I think are paramount to discuss. It's the power and grooming dynamics that are imperative to recognize for the protection of women, children, and all potential victims. I hope new legislation is brought to implement more safeguards in the film industry as survivors continue to speak out.
