Quiet on Set The Dark Side of Kids TV (full documentary English 2024)
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (full documentary English 2024) || By Investigation Discovery
Quiet on Set review: A staggering picture of abuse at Nickelodeon
This chilling exposé of the children’s television giant and its ex-producer Dan Schneider illuminates our collective tolerance for abuse.
“If you were a child of the 90s, this is going to ruin that for you.” So says a vlogger in the opening montage of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Investigation Discovery’s exposé of children’s television giant Nickelodeon and its ex-producer Dan Schneider – and I’m afraid she’s right.
Over four episodes, Quiet on Set reveals the staggering abuses of power to which the writers and child stars on Schneider’s series (including The Amanda Show, Victorious and All That) were subjected; perhaps even more troubling, it depicts a culture in which such violations were not only allowed to happen but broadcast on explosively popular television shows.
Following Schneider’s rise from young actor to studio executive, Quiet on Set surveys his hugely influential career via the testimonies of those who worked with him, plus insightful analysis from journalist Kate Taylor (Business Insider) and culture writer Scaachi Koul.
While there’s no question that Schneider had a nose for hit shows – he created everything from Drake and Josh to iCarly – his behaviour as a boss was eye-wateringly poor. “Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship,” says Christy Stratton, one of two women writers (sharing a single salary) who wrote under Schneider on The Amanda Show. Stratton was eventually fired, while her colleague Jenny Kilgen ended up suing Schneider for gender discrimination.
Besides his colleagues, Quiet on Set also hears from the actors who felt profoundly damaged by the atmosphere Schneider cultivated: “It was important to be on his good side and he made it known who was,” says Bryan Hearne, who starred in sketch show All That before being abruptly cut from its third season. “Me as a person was altered for life” says Alexa Nikolas, one of the stars of Zoey 101.
Alexa Nikola master interview shot Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV TV still Investigation Discovery discovery+ Provided by katie.dart@wbd.com
Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikola is interviewed on ‘Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ (Photo: Investigation Discovery)
While we broadly understand the cost of child stardom via cultural cautionary tales – Amanda Bynes, for instance, who is much discussed but not present in the exposé – Quiet on Set gives valuable insight into the minutiae that mount into a toxic environment. Via an avalanche of anecdotes, the documentary depicts Schneider as a vindictive, egotistical man with a childish sense of humour, who exploited the power dynamics at his disposal.
Beyond Schneider’s treatment of people working for him, the documentary raises sinister questions about the shows themselves. Archival scenes – “goo” being sprayed on Jamie Lynn Spears’ face, Ariana Grande pouring water on herself while looking up at the camera – are especially troubling. “We’re adults so we know what’s going on,” says Koul. “But this is a show for kids – so who is the sexual innuendo for?”
While Schneider hasn’t been accused of inappropriate sexual activity, the documentary surveys three people on Nickelodeon sets who were convicted of child sex crimes. Speaking publicly for the first time, Drake Bell gives a measured and stark account of his abuse by dialect coach Brian Peck; yet, even after Peck was found guilty, his career continued. As Bell recalls: “Brian had been convicted but he was getting all this support from people in the industry.”
This is such a horrifying story that it’s tempting to imagine it limited to a certain time or place. But while Quiet on Set paints detailed pictures of select predators, its most chilling legacy will be in illuminating our collective tolerance for such abuses in the first place.
Schneider eventually lost his job in 2018 following the cultural shift of #MeToo. In an on-screen statement at the end of the show, he says he’d do things differently today if he could; tellingly, he also notes that “everything that happened […] was carefully scrutinised by dozens of involved adults. All stories […] were approved by network executives on two coasts.” It is perhaps that insidiousness that will strike viewers as most uncomfortable of all.
Just like the child stars and their parents, we were all inured to the murky morality of men like Schneider via immersion in their absorbing, technicolour world. Quiet on Set deserves applause for speaking truth to power, but also for shining its searchlight back onto the culture that enabled Schneider, and the audiences who lapped up his shows, in the first place.
Quiet on Set The Dark Side of Kids TV (full documentary English 2024)