Some of our most beloved childhood memories come from the shows we watch. We sit on the couch when the new episode comes out, eyes glued to the screen. We watch as Carly and Sam film iCarly with Freddie upstairs or as Tori sings another hit song for a school project. But the enjoyment we gained from those shows came at a cost many of us didn’t know until now.
“Quiet on Set” follows the stories of the kids who worked on TV shows and haunting backstories those actors lived through. The show is set up news-style, with one person speaking at once, sitting behind a desk, in a director’s chair, or on a couch, the focus only being on that person. The show also creates settings that resemble the sets or places where the stories being told are taking place, which keep viewers on the hook, enticing them to continue watching. We also see highlighted portions of documents that relate to what happened, like case files or letters of support, and emphasize the critical details in the show.
Episode 1- Rising Stars, Rising Questions
In this episode, we learn the truth about Dan Schneider, one of the biggest producers in Nickelodeon history. He built a name for himself through his comedy and shows, but at the cost of the innocence of stars and the abuse of the people who worked for him. His favoritism toward certain stars emanates not only from the cast members who spoke about it but also from the images taken on set and the opportunities given to certain people over others.
In this episode, we also meet the female writers and hear their experiences, which were nothing short of horrible. Not only were they paid as one person, but Jenny Kilgen and Christy Statton were forced to endure awful work environments and were constantly told to do things in a sexual manner. When they filed a lawsuit against Schneider for paying them as one, it ended with Statton’s termination and later Kilgen’s resignation. This happened to many of the crew members and writers throughout these shows.
Episode 2 – Hidden in plain sight
This episode had a less direct focus on big stars in Nickelodeon, though we do get to hear from people who worked for a long time on the show “All That,” which was Schinder’s first Nickelodeon show. We see uncomfortable and sexual jokes made on this show and most of the other shows Schinder produced, and we get to hear directly from cast members whom Schnider didn’t favor, about how uncomfortable these jokes and skits made them.
We see flashbacks to the show, a specific part, in particular, Snick On Air Dare, which to most cast members felt like Fear Factor on Nickelodeon. Cast members were forced to participate in these dares, which you would likely never see an adult agree to do, yet these children were forced to do them. Certain dares are shown, so if you have never seen the original show, you will see some of the dares they were forced to do. Watching snippets of the show, especially if you used to watch the show when you were younger, opens viewers eyes to how much the actors were forced to do. This episode also begins to cover the pedophiles who worked on set, and we learn more about them in the following episode.
Episode 3 – The Darkest Secret
The episode’s most significant focus is Drake Bell and his story. Schneider released his next hit show, “Drake and Josh,” before which Peck was arrested in Aug. 2003 for molesting Bell. We learn about the formation of Bell’s career and the effort he and his father put into his career at the beginning. When cast on “The Amanda Show,” he was first introduced to Peck. At this point, due to the foreshadowing in the previous episode, we know that Peck molested Bell, but we learn the backstory in episode three.
Bell and his dad were close, but their relationship fell apart as Peck became closer to Bell. This drove Bell even closer to Peck, despite what his father said and his warnings to Bell’s mother. Drake was sleeping on the couch in Peck’s home and as he mentions in the show, woke up to him sexually assaulting him. And while Peck apologized, he didn’t stop. Bell kept it a secret until he finally told his mom, and she called the police.
Episode 4 – Too Close to the Sun
Peck was arrested, but his sentencing was only 16 months. The show provides copies of his unreleased letters of support to the judge, highlighting the key statements Peck’s former colleagues made to emphasize the support Peck had.
This episode pans back to Schneider’s empire on Nickelodeon. In the 2000s, “Drake and Josh” is doing well, and new shows like “Zoey 101,” “Victorious,” and “iCarly” are hitting the screens. The show gives insight into Jennette McCurdy’s situation on set, and we get to see snippets of her book, “I’m Glad My Mother Died,” and learn how bad the situations and Schneider’s sets were. After her mother’s death, when McCurdy barely had time off, Nickelodeon looked into what was happening on the set of “Sam and Cat” and banned Schneider from that show. It wasn’t long before he was removed from Nickelodeon altogether.
The episode ends with cast members talking about how these events affected them and how difficult it was to move past what happened to them as kids.
Overall, “Quiet on Set” does a great job of presenting the stories of childhood actors while maintaining viewers’ focus. It kept me engaged and left me with my mouth hanging open. While it is serious in its contents, “Quiet on Set” is worth watching, and hopefully the TV industry has learned their lesson in how to treat the children who work on their sets.
