QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV EXPOSES TOXIC WORKING ENVIRONMENT ON DAN SCHNEIDER'S POPULAR TEEN TV SERIES OF THE 1990s AND EARLY 2000s
-Four-Part Docuseries to Debut Across Two Nights Starting March 17 at 9/8c on ID-
(New York, NY) - Today, Investigation Discovery, the leading true crime network, announced QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV, a four-part docuseries that uncovers the toxic and dangerous culture behind some of the most iconic children's shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s. QUIET ON SET pulls back the curtain on an empire, built by creator Dan Schneider, that had an undeniable grip on popular culture. Series such as All That and The Amanda Show, among others, were obsessively consumed by children across the country and defined comedy for a generation. But behind the upbeat onscreen presence on these shows with questionable jokes and over-the-top sketches, QUIET ON SET reveals an insidious environment rife with allegations of abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew. QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV will premiere across two nights on ID from 9PM-11PM ET/PT on Sunday, March 17 and Monday, March 18.
QUIET ON SET features unprecedented access to key cast members, writers, and crew spanning Schneider's popular series at Nickelodeon. Former All That cast members Giovonnie Samuels, Kyle Sullivan, Bryan Hearne and Katrina Johnson and director Virgil Fabian pull back the curtain on the culture on set of the beloved teen sketch series. Writers Jenny Kilgen and Christy Stratton expose allegations of a toxic and sexist environment in The Amanda Show writer's room. Alexa Nikolas offers insight into being a part of Zoey 101. QUIET ON SET will feature additional cast and crew from iCarly, Sam & Cat, Victorious, and other iconic series such as Marc Summers from the popular game show Double Dare. Poignantly, the series will also offer emotional testimony from parents of cast members who attempted to advocate for their children on these sets.
Over the course of its four parts, QUIET ON SET will shine a spotlight on these emotional accounts, chronicling a pattern of gross, abusive, and manipulative behavior that unfolded across decades, as well as exclusive stories about child predators on set. These interviews, woven with archival footage (some of which has never been broadcast), scenes from the shows and social media commentary, will recontextualize many moments within these series that may have seemed silly or off when first aired but now carry a much darker undertone, offering a powerful reframing of these beloved shows.
QUIET ON SET is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz and produced by Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television - Nonfiction in association with Business Insider.
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About INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY (ID)
Investigation Discovery (ID) is the leading true crime network on television, delivering the highest-quality programming to more than 70 million U.S. households. For exclusive web content and bonus material, fans can follow ID on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook or check out the network's true crime blog, CrimeFeed. Investigation Discovery is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en EspaƱol, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
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Schneider, who is referred to in the trailer as “Nickelodeon’s golden boy,” helped launch the careers of Josh Peck, Drake Bell, Miranda Cosgrove, Ariana Grande, Jamie Lynn Spears and more. In the trailer, interviewees explain that “working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship,” detailing various complaints filed about the showrunner over the years. “There was a toxic environment. It made me trust people less,” another Nickelodeon alum alleged. Schneider’s alleged mistreatment of cast members and employees on his shows is described as an “open secret” in the preview.
A representative for Schneider responded to the Quiet on Set trailer with a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that argued how often-vulnerable child actors — due to being successful and key earners for their families — were protected on set. “Dan cared about the kids on his shows even when sometimes their own families unfortunately did not. He understood what they were going through and he was their biggest champion. The fact is many of the kids on these shows are put in the untenable position of becoming the breadwinner for their family and the pressure that comes along with that. Add on top of that the difficulties of growing up and having to do so under the spotlight while working a demanding job, all as a child. That is why there are many levels of standards, executives, lawyers, teachers and parents everywhere, all the time, on every set, every day. However, it is still a hard place to be a kid and nobody knew that better than Dan.”
“In the early ’90s, Nickelodeon was kid everything, and you better hope that your house had cable,” one interviewee says in the clip.
“This is when Dan Schneider arrives, Nickelodeon’s golden boy,” another person says. “He created these shows that were hugely successful for them. He launched the careers of child actors who became major stars.”
The trailer shows images of Schneider with popular celebs, including Grande, who played Cat Valentine on Victorious and spin-off Sam & Cat, Kenan Thompson, who starred in several Nickelodeon shows, including All That, as well as Drake Bell, star of Drake & Josh.
“For 20 years he shaped children’s entertainment and culture, but that marked one of the darkest chapters,” an interviewee says.
As the music transitions from uplifting to solemn, former child stars and the parents of former child actors revealed the alleged unseen behavior of Schneider, which they described as an “open secret” of “abusive relationship” that led to “gender discrimination,” “hostile work environment” and “harassment” in the workplace.
Schneider began his career at the children’s TV channel in 1993, helping write and develop the kids sketch comedy show All That. Over the span of 25 years, he created, wrote and produced a slew of other successful shows, including, Kenan & Kel, Sam & Cat, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Game Shakers and more. Nickelodeon ended their deal with Schneider in 2018 after the allegations surfaced.
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Originally published: February 09, 2024.
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