A new documentary series titled “Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will spotlight the allegations of abusive and toxic behavior against longtime former Nickelodeon producer and screenwriter Dan Schneider (“iCarly”).
On Thursday, Investigative Discovery (ID) released the trailer for its four-part series, which features accounts from former child stars who worked on Schneider’s series during the ’90s and early 2000s. Watch that video above.
“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 Ariana Grande, who played Cat Valentine on “Victorious;” Keenan 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, “Keenan and Kel,” “Sam & Cat,” “Drak & Josh,” “Zoey 101,” “iCarly” and more. Nickelodeon ended their deal with Schneider in 2018 after the allegations surfaced.
Per an official synopsis of the series, which is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, “Quiet On Set” will pull “back 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.”
The series will make its debut over the course of two nights on ID, starting on Sunday, March 17 and Monday, March 18.
