Quiet On Set Is Changing Kids TV Forever

I watched Quiet on Set this week after hearing about it from friends. Also, my friend and former co-worker Sarah Fraser had actor Drake Bell on her podcast. A lot of what you will hear in Quiet on Set is upsetting, but for me, what Bell bravely shared was literally jaw-dropping. His story froze me in place.

In Quiet on Set, for the first time publicly, Bell speaks of being sexually assaulted repeatedly by adult dialogue coach Brian Peck when Bell was 15. This was around the time when Bell landed a coveted spot on Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show in 1999.

Bell was introduced to Peck, a coach who befriended him and would invite Bell to his house for acting lessons. This is where Bell says the assaults began.

“The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal,” Bell said on Quiet on Set.

In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to the charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14- or 15-year-old. Peck spent 16 months in prison and had to register as a sex offender. However, that was not the end.

A year after his release, Peck was hired by Disney Channel to work on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse, where he did voiceover work for three episodes, but reportedly had no interaction with the cast or crew on set.

Peck was fired after Disney Channel learned of his conviction, but I think this brings up a much bigger issue: Why didn’t Disney know about Peck to begin with? There seems to be a communication breakdown and an overall sense that people simply don’t want to get involved, apparently not even when it pertains to protecting our children.

It was not commonly known that it was Bell who was involved in the Peck case, but that information isn’t needed, really. All a parent needs to know is that their child may be working on a show with a convicted sex offender.

Another major figure at the center of Quiet on Set is now former Nickelodeon top producer and show creator Dan Schneider. In a YouTube video, Schneider recalled being “devastated” years ago when learning that Bell was involved in Peck’s case. Bell doesn’t hold Schneider responsible for what happened to him.

Regardless, Schneider is being held accountable.

In Quiet on Set, former female co-workers of Schneider’s make allegations he would pressure employees for massages.

Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen were hired for The Amanda Show in 1999. They were the show’s only female writers, and they say they had to split a single salary between the two of them. In Quiet on Set, Kilgen says Schneider showed pornography from his computer and pressured others to publicly perform uncomfortable activities as jokes.

She says he asked Stratton to tell a story like she was being sodomized. Stratton appeared so upset about that story that she had trouble retelling it.

Then, there are the jokes that actually made air on Schneider‘s shows. Looking back now they seem more than inappropriate.

For example, having Ariana Grande grip a potato with two hands for a long time, squeezing, and trying to get the “juice” out. The skits are filled with sexual innuendo and double entendre.

In Quiet on Set, Schneider is also accused of verbal and emotional abuse in the form of screaming, yelling, threats and insults. He has not been officially accused of physical or sexual abuse, though a growing number of fans on X are expressing the belief that he may have sexually assaulted a young Amanda Bynes.

So, has anything changed?

Well, for one, Nickelodeon finally parted ways with Schneider in 2018, although with a reported $7 million pay out. Schneider has seen all the episodes of Quiet on Set and said in part, “Facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret … I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”

Nickelodeon released a statement stating, “Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”

The allegations in Quiet on Set happened years ago, but that does not mean similar crimes aren’t happening today. We have to protect our kids. For one, parents can’t leave their kids alone, no matter what anyone tells them or how important or famous that person seems.

As a parent, I realize this is easier said than done, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Also, the power dynamic on sets needs to shift so that parents feel empowered to speak up and the child stars, themselves, feel they are able to speak up as well. Child stars are often seen not as children and, instead, vehicles to make others money and that needs to end.

Hopefully with the release of Quiet on Set, some eyes will open, new conversations will begin, and making kids tv will become safer.

Quiet on Set is available to stream on Max, The Roku Channel, and Apple TV with premium subscriptions.