The New Docuseries That Explores the Allegedly ‘Toxic’ Sets of Dan Schneider

Now, a four-part documentary has been announced by Investigation Discovery that will dive into the experience of employees and children who said they suffered under the reign of Schneider.

He was behind shows including “Drake & Josh,” “The Amanda Show,” and “iCarly,” all of which garnered millions of viewers from across the states and beyond. Yet, seven years ago, things went horribly wrong for the producer. 

ViacomCBS carried out an investigation on Schneider between 2017 and 2018, yet found no concrete evidence of sexual misconduct. However, they did conclude the producer was verbally abusive on numerous occasions, according to The Los Angeles Times.

In a 2022 protest, Nickolas called Schneider “the creator of childhood trauma.” She added, “Every time he came on set, my body got extremely tense. Later on in season two, him and a bunch of executives made me cry in a room alone” (via PopSugar).

Titled “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” various employees, former writers, crew members, and even some of the shows’ casts all share their experience of working with Schneider.

“Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship,” said a former employee during the trailer. Meanwhile, another says that Schneider’s “treatment of people on his shows was an open secret.”

Whereas another employee claims there have been numerous instances of sexual abuse with minors. Yet, the trailer does not specify just exactly who the victims were.

According to her book, a creator had urged her to drink alcohol when she was still underage and mentioned inappropriate behavior, such as massages. Yet, McCurdy did not reveal who she was speaking of specifically.

“Dan cared about the kids on his shows even when sometimes their own families, unfortunately, did not. He understood what they were going through, and he was their biggest champion,” said his spokesperson, per Entertainment Weekly.

“There are many levels of standards, executives, lawyers, teachers, and parents everywhere, all the time, on every set, every day. However, it is still a hard place to be a kid, and nobody knew that better than Dan,” they wrote. 

Speaking with The New York Times in 2021, he said, “I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t have the long-term friendships and continued loyalty from so many reputable people if I’d mistreated my actors of any age, especially minors.”

Yet much of the public who have watched several videos on YouTube remains convinced that the former producer carried out abusive acts against minors whilst working on some of Nickelodeon’s best-rated shows.