“Quiet on Set” is a new documentary speaking out on the grim side of kids’ TV; the production was released in mid-March of this year. You can stream it on Hulu, Prime, HBO Max and more.
Dan Schneider, once a big writer for Nickelodeon, produced “iCarly”, “Sam and Cat”, “Victorious”, and “The Amanda Show”, on which he also played Mr. Oldman. “Quiet on Set” exposes the sexual innuendos those involved claim were rampant on the Nickelodeon shows Schneider produced; various actors from Nickelodeon orate their experiences working with Schneider. The documentary came about when filmmaker Mary Robertson saw a compilation of all the Nickelodeon shows and noticed there were numerous sexual “inside jokes” that were mostly centered around young girls. Grown-ups today who watched the series “back then” would not understand those jokes, but when viewers/fans rewatch now, they realize how inappropriate the content matter sometimes was. Robertson wondered how these shows were allowed to air, and what adults wrote the jokes. She questioned which adults said ‘yes’ and who said ‘no’ in terms of green-lighting the content that aired. Robertson and her colleague, Emma Schwartz, a journalist, began digging.
This documentary is focused on an unfortunate aspect of youth television, but helps the watcher learn about all the inside problems at Nickelodeon. “Quiet on Set” claims that people had hunches about sexual improprieties, but never really knew, and did not act.
One of the more powerful aspects of Robertson’s documentary is the presence of actors from those shows mentioned, all of whom speak out about what they have been through. “Quiet on Set” viewers are greeted with a big Nickelodeon star, Drake Bell from “Drake and Josh”, a booming show in the 2000s set San Diego, CA. Drake and Josh are two stepbrothers in high school living their ‘crazy’ life.
In “Quiet on the Set”, Bell does claim that he was a John Doe in a sexual abuse case against Schneider. However, news channels question the validity of this statement, and Schneider himself “has filed a defamation legal case against the producers of a TV documentary series, claiming it has ‘irreparably harmed’ his reputation.”
Whether or not Robertson’s accusations are valid, the question remains: is the documentary worth watching? The answer is: most definitely.
In particular, people who enjoy having their childhoods ruined slightly should watch. Many viewers grew up tuning into these shows, and they will be stunned by the accusations. It is clear some of the Nickelodeon actors now have mental health struggles (Jennette McCurdy, for instance, has written a memoir on her battle to overcome mental health issues that result from pressure from ‘The Creator’) as a result of what they say occurred while working on Schneider’s shows. If what the actors say is true, it makes sense that these now-adults are having a difficult time because of all they went through as children, likely forced to grow up too soon.
Another reason to watch this documentary is so fans can judge whether boycotting Nickelodeon shows is necessary. As kids, many were so oblivious as to what they were watching; fans did not know, nor investigate – especially when people who worked for Nickelodeon did not act or say anything either. There were times on the internet when video leaks of the actors seemed uncomfortable. For those who believe Robertson’s claims, these actors’ suffering is not worth people’s entertainment.
“Quiet on Set” is a must-watch for Nickelodeon fans, but also people who are interested in the inner-workings of the film industry. It is a powerful documentary that will ruin childhoods, but also call fans to take action. If these companies are to really care they would take drastic actions to check on there actors take them seriously even though they are kids.
