Dan Schneider Apologizes Following Nickelodeon Docuseries

Former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider sat down for a video interview with BooG!e, who starred as T-Bo in iCarly, on Tuesday. In the interview, he apologized for the gender discrimination, “overlooked” actors of color, massage requests, and other allegations made by his former colleagues, in new docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

“Watching over the past few nights was very difficult,” Schneider said of the four-part Investigation Discovery series. “Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”

Schneider joined Nickelodeon in 1993 as a writer for the skit-based kids show All That, and went on to create successful slapstick classics at the network like The Amanda Show, starring Amanda Bynes, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, and others. In Quiet on Set: The Dark Sides of TV, former child actors and Nickelodeon employees detail the unsettling experience they had while working on Schneider-affiliated shows.

During the 19-minute video, Schneider told BooG!e he did not hire dialogue coach Brian Peck, who Drake & Josh star Drake Bell alleges sexually assaulted him, as he reveals in the docuseries.

“When Drake and I talked and he told me about what happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far. And I told him, ‘I’m here for you,’” Schneider said in the new interview.

The Los Angeles police arrested Peck in August 2003 for lewd acts with a child. Peck later pleaded no contest to two charges of sexual abuse, was sentenced to 16 months in jail, and required to register as a sex offender. Schneider got emotional as he discussed helping Bell’s mother write her speech for the judge, amid the ongoing case.

“That was the darkest part of my career,” Schneider said. “And here’s the kicker I really don’t get, after he got out of prison, to my knowledge a registered sex offender, he was hired on a Disney show.”

Schneider also addressed his asking for massages from Nickelodeon employees: “It was wrong. It was wrong that I ever put anyone in that position. It was wrong to do. I’d never do it today. I’m embarrassed that I did it then. I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation.”

The former Nickelodeon producer also apologized for making jokes that “went too far” while in the writers’ room, and said he was “immature” and an “inexperienced” producer. On Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of TV, former writers Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen allege Schneider made misogynistic jokes in the writers’ room.

“No writer should ever feel uncomfortable in any writers’ room,” he said. “Most writers, TV writers are aware that a lot of times there are inappropriate jokes made and inappropriate topics come up, but the fact that I participated in that especially since I was leading the room, it embarrasses me. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Schneider also addressed Stratton and Kilgen’s claims of sharing a salary while working on The Amanda Show, and said it’s a common practice for writers landing their first major gig. He also denied having any responsibility on issuing paystubs to writers.

“In this case, it was two women writers,” Schneider said. “I’ve done another show where that teaming was done with two male writers and they split a salary. I did another show where it was a male and a female writer, and they split a salary.”

In Quiet on Set, former Nickelodeon employees said that some on-air scenes felt referential to porn or felt evident of a foot fetish. Zoey 101’s Alexa Nikolas recalled filming an episode of Zoey 101 where goo is splattered on the show lead Jamie Lynn Spears’ face and the boys referred to the scene as a “cumshot” during production.

“All these jokes that you’re speaking of that the show covered over the past two nights, every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny and only funny,” Schneider said in response to the inappropriate skits.

Schneider also said that everything from costumes to storylines had to be approved by network executives on both coasts.

“Now, we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens and they’re looking at them and they’re saying ‘Oh, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kids show,’” Schneider added. “And I have no problem with that. If that’s how anyone feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show.”

Quiet on Set featured former child actors who expressed the discomfort they faced while conducting “On Air Dare.” (Former All That cast member Bryan Hearne described being covered in peanut butter and licked clean by dogs.) Black actors also said they felt isolated and “intimidated” by Schneider in the docuseries.

“Diversity has always been very important to me in my shows,” Schneider said, sharing that several shows he was involved in had a lead Black actor.

To conclude the video interview, Schneider encouraged kids shows to hire on-set licensed therapists and took accountability for his “over-ambitious” behavior.

“The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone. I definitely, at times, didn’t give people the best of me,” Schneider said. “I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I’m sorry that I ever was.”

Former Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider sat down for a video interview with BooG!e, who starred as T-Bo in iCarly, on Tuesday. In the interview, he apologized for the gender discrimination, “overlooked” actors of color, massage requests, and other allegations made by his former colleagues, in new docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

“Watching over the past few nights was very difficult,” Schneider said of the four-part Investigation Discovery series. “Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”

Schneider joined Nickelodeon in 1993 as a writer for the skit-based kids show All That, and went on to create successful slapstick classics at the network like The Amanda Show, starring Amanda Bynes, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, and others. In Quiet on Set: The Dark Sides of TV, former child actors and Nickelodeon employees detail the unsettling experience they had while working on Schneider-affiliated shows.

During the 19-minute video, Schneider told BooG!e he did not hire dialogue coach Brian Peck, who Drake & Josh star Drake Bell alleges sexually assaulted him, as he reveals in the docuseries.

“When Drake and I talked and he told me about what happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far. And I told him, ‘I’m here for you,’” Schneider said in the new interview.

The Los Angeles police arrested Peck in August 2003 for lewd acts with a child. Peck later pleaded no contest to two charges of sexual abuse, was sentenced to 16 months in jail, and required to register as a sex offender. Schneider got emotional as he discussed helping Bell’s mother write her speech for the judge, amid the ongoing case.

“That was the darkest part of my career,” Schneider said. “And here’s the kicker I really don’t get, after he got out of prison, to my knowledge a registered sex offender, he was hired on a Disney show.”

Schneider also addressed his asking for massages from Nickelodeon employees: “It was wrong. It was wrong that I ever put anyone in that position. It was wrong to do. I’d never do it today. I’m embarrassed that I did it then. I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation.”

The former Nickelodeon producer also apologized for making jokes that “went too far” while in the writers’ room, and said he was “immature” and an “inexperienced” producer. On Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of TV, former writers Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen allege Schneider made misogynistic jokes in the writers’ room.

“No writer should ever feel uncomfortable in any writers’ room,” he said. “Most writers, TV writers are aware that a lot of times there are inappropriate jokes made and inappropriate topics come up, but the fact that I participated in that especially since I was leading the room, it embarrasses me. I shouldn’t have done it.”

Schneider also addressed Stratton and Kilgen’s claims of sharing a salary while working on The Amanda Show, and said it’s a common practice for writers landing their first major gig. He also denied having any responsibility on issuing paystubs to writers.

“In this case, it was two women writers,” Schneider said. “I’ve done another show where that teaming was done with two male writers and they split a salary. I did another show where it was a male and a female writer, and they split a salary.”

In Quiet on Set, former Nickelodeon employees said that some on-air scenes felt referential to porn or felt evident of a foot fetish. Zoey 101’s Alexa Nikolas recalled filming an episode of Zoey 101 where goo is splattered on the show lead Jamie Lynn Spears’ face and the boys referred to the scene as a “cumshot” during production.

“All these jokes that you’re speaking of that the show covered over the past two nights, every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny and only funny,” Schneider said in response to the inappropriate skits.

Schneider also said that everything from costumes to storylines had to be approved by network executives on both coasts.

“Now, we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens and they’re looking at them and they’re saying ‘Oh, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kids show,’” Schneider added. “And I have no problem with that. If that’s how anyone feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show.”

Quiet on Set featured former child actors who expressed the discomfort they faced while conducting “On Air Dare.” (Former All That cast member Bryan Hearne described being covered in peanut butter and licked clean by dogs.) Black actors also said they felt isolated and “intimidated” by Schneider in the docuseries.

“Diversity has always been very important to me in my shows,” Schneider said, sharing that several shows he was involved in had a lead Black actor.

To conclude the video interview, Schneider encouraged kids shows to hire on-set licensed therapists and took accountability for his “over-ambitious” behavior.

“The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone. I definitely, at times, didn’t give people the best of me,” Schneider said. “I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I’m sorry that I ever was.”