Actors Josh Peck, Miranda Cosgrove, Drake Bell pose at the after party for the premiere Of Nickelodeon's 'Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh!' on 2 December, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Frazier Harrison / Getty Images / AFP
A four-part documentary series about the problematic ongoings at Nickelodeon has left viewers with a lot to grapple with.
Debuting over the course of two nights in March, ID's Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV explored the alleged sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination that took place on several Nickelodeon shows during the 90s and 2000s.
Child stars accused producers and crew members of enabling child sexualisation, female writers spoke about being forced to split salaries and perform degrading acts in the writer's room, and former child actor Drake Bell detailed sexual abuse at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck.
The documentary made many shocking revelations. Here are some of the key takeaways:
Nickelodeon's 'golden boy' allegedly got away with abuse for over a decade
Dan Schneider pretty much built Nickelodeon's empire. From creating sketch comedies All That and The Amanda Show to sitcoms like Drake & Josh, iCarly, Zoey 101 and Victorious, Schneider is responsible for some of the network's most successful programmes and names, also credited for having launched the careers of Ariana Grande, Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes.
Described as the network's 'golden boy', Schneider was a force to be reckoned with for over a decade and plays a key figure in the documentary, as former child stars and adult staffers recount tales of racism, sexism, harassment and verbal abuse at his hands.
Actors from popular Nickelodeon shows including Drake Bell, Josh Peck and Ariana Grande onstage during Nickelodeon's 27th Annual Kids' Choice Awards held at USC Galen Center on 29 March, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Kevin Winter / Getty Images / AFP
The sexism
In episode one, The Amanda Show writers Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen spoke about how Schneider allegedly forced them to share a single salary as the only two women in the writer's room, and they claim he often subjected them to degrading demands - asking for massages, showing them pornography, and on one occasion, allegedly asking Stratton to act out being sodomised while pitching a sketch idea.
Schneider has denied having control over salaries and made no comment on the other accusation, but in an interview posted to his YouTube channel, he directly addressed the massages: "It was wrong to do. I'd never do it today, I'm embarrassed I did it then. I apologise to anybody I ever put in that situation."
The racism
Interviews with Raquel Lee Bolleau, Leon Frierson, Bryan Hearne, and Giovonnie Samuels - some of the only Black cast members of All That - alleged that Schneider gave preferential treatment to the show's white cast, while putting its Black cast in stereotypical and reductive roles. Hearne spoke about overhearing a producer comparing his skin tone to the colour of charcoal, and feeling sexualised in a skit where dogs licked peanut butter off his body, while Frierson recalled Schneider creating a character for him called Nose Boy - a superhero with an enlarged nose which seemed to resemble male genitals. The punchline: he sneezed snot.
R-rated jokes and inappropriate behaviour
Adults who worked behind-the-scenes alleged Schneider had a propensity for incorporating adult humour into his shows because he found it funny. Sexual innuendos, suggestive imagery, R-rated jokes and sexualised costuming were littered throughout his programmes. The documentary refers to two particularly jarring scenes - an All That skit involving pickles being slid through holes, and a Zoey 101 scene in which Jamie Lynn Spears has a gooey substance shot on her face.
Quiet on Set doesn't shy away from Schneider's dynamics with his cast either, specifically his relationship with a young Amanda Bynes. All That editor Karyn Finley Thompson says Schneider and Bynes had "a very close relationship" and recalls the then 13-year-old Bynes massaging Schneider's shoulders. Kyle Sullivan, who spent four years on the show, says the two would often disappear together for hours at a time.
Actress Amanda Bynes arrives at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards at Universal Studios' Gibson Amphitheatre on 5 June, 2011 in Universal City, California. Photo: Jason Merritt / Getty Images / AFP
Drake Bell speaks out about sexual abuse for the first time
In episode two, we learn that a young member of All That has been sexually abused by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. Cast and crew are shocked, but no one steps forward with any information. At the end of the episode, Peck's victim is revealed to be Drake & Josh star Drake Bell.
It's the first time Bell has spoken out about the abuse - the 2004 court case only identified Bell as "John Doe" and his identity has remained a secret until now. Bell is choked up and unable to fully detail what happened to him on camera, but asks viewers to "imagine the worst thing someone could do to someone as sexual assault".
Court documents reveal Peck was charged with 11 counts of sexual abuse, including oral copulation, sodomy, forced penetration, using a foreign object, and employment of a minor for pornography. He was sentenced to 16 months and forced to register as a sex offender, before going on to work on Disney's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
A pattern of hiring predators
Peck wasn't the only predator on set. The documentary reveals Nickelodeon has employed at least two other sexual offenders.
Jason Handy, a production assistant who worked closely with the young cast of All That and The Amanda Show, received a six-year sentence in 2004 for molesting two girls. Animator Ezel Channel went to prison for more than seven years after his 2009 conviction for sexually abusing teenage boys at his studio.
Handy is featured in the docuseries for his relationship with Brandi, another cast member of All That. Handy started emailing a then 11-year-old Brandi. The emails started innocuously and ended up with Handy emailing the young actor a file of him naked and masturbating. Authorities searched his home and ultimately found over 10,000 images of child pornography. Brandi's mother MJ tells the story in the documentary, while Brandi's whereabouts are unknown.
Hollywood support
During his trial, Peck received wide support from Hollywood stars and industry figures that Bell considered friends. Letters of support for Peck were written by Alan Thicke, Tarran Killam, and James Marsden to name a few.
Bell recalls only three people on his side as he addressed the courtroom, speaking to everyone siding with Peck: "You will forever have the memory of sitting in this courtroom 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."
