Everything Former Nickelodeon Stars Have Said In Response To The Docuseries 'quiet On Set'

Former Nickelodeon stars Josh Peck and Drake Bell have both spoken out since the release of the docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV."

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• Former Nickelodeon stars are speaking out after Investigation Discovery's docuseries "Quiet on Set."
• The docuseries included revelations of abuse and a toxic work environment at the network.
• Drake Bell, Alexa Nikolas, and more actors shared their responses to the doc on social media.

Investigation Discovery's docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" has cast a shadow over Nickelodeon's legacy in children's TV.

"Quiet on Set," released in four parts across two nights on March 17 and 18, has been watched by more than 16 million viewers, the largest audience for an unscripted series since the launch of the streaming service Max. The docuseries came after years of reports of a toxic work environment under producer Dan Schneider at Nickelodeon, including a 2022 investigation by Business Insider's Kate Taylor, on which the series is based.

The docuseries has reignited a conversation about unsafe working conditions for child actors, and put former cast, crew, and Schneider himself back in the spotlight to relitigate their past experiences at the network. Schneider also released a nearly 20-minute video in which he addressed claims made about him in the docuseries and apologized, saying he wished he'd treated people better on set.

The conversation is still going: a bonus fifth episode of "Quiet on Set" was released on April 7, and stars like Victoria Justice and Lori Beth Denberg have shared their thoughts on Schneider and the doc in the time since.

Here's everything former Nickelodeon stars have said in response to "Quiet on Set."

Alexa Nikolas, who starred as Nicole Bristow on the first two seasons of 'Zoey 101,' slammed Schneider's apology video

Nikolas reacted to Schneider's video during a livestream that was uploaded on the YouTube channel for her activist group Eat Predators.

She described Schneider as a "bully" and said that she "would've appreciated if Dan apologized directly to me."

"When someone doesn't personally come to you and apologize, it's not an apology," Nikolas said. "If you hear about it through other people, it's not really an apology, right? An apology is to the person that you hurt. That's what an apology is for."

While watching Schneider's video for the first time, Nikolas criticized the producer for not taking accountability.

"I don't forgive Dan Schneider," she said. "Not saying I'll never, right? But currently, right now, that made me a little more upset, just because that just wasn't it. That wasn't proper accountability. That was avoiding a lot of the main discussions here that were mentioned in 'Quiet on Set.' This was him playing the sympathy card, centering himself, playing the victim."

After coming forward about being sexually abused as a teen, Drake Bell called Nickelodeon's response 'empty'

Investigation Discovery

In the docuseries, Bell revealed that he was the 15-year-old actor who was sexually abused by acting and dialogue coach Brian Peck.

Nickelodeon reacted to Bell's revelation in a statement shared with Deadline.

"Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward," the statement read.

Bell spoke about the fallout from the docuseries during an in-depth interview for "The Sarah Fraser Show."

The actor said that he wasn't impressed by Nickelodeon's statement.

"There's a very well-tailored response saying, 'Learning about his trauma,' because they couldn't say that they didn't know about this or know what had happened, or anything," Bell said. "So I think that was a really well-tailored response by probably some big attorney in Hollywood. I find it pretty empty, their responses, because they still show our shows, they still put our shows on. And I have to pay for my own therapy."

"If there was any truth behind them actually caring, there would be something more than quotes on a page by obviously a legal representative telling them exactly how to tailor a response," he added.

At the time of his interview with Sarah Fraser, Bell said that no one who wrote the letters in support of his abuser Peck had reached out and genuinely apologized to him.

"I haven't gotten an apology, or a sorry, from anybody that had written letters, or was involved in supporting him at all," he said.

He added that he did appreciate "X-Men" producer Tom DeSanto's statement to People magazine, in which he said that he was given misinformation regarding the case.

"With the knowledge and understanding I possess today, I want to personally apologize to Drake and his family and emphatically state that had I been fully informed of all the accusations, my support would have been absolutely withheld," DeSanto said.

Bell also said that his "Drake & Josh" costar Josh Peck (who is unrelated to Brian Peck), reached out to him privately.

Bell acknowledged that he and Josh Peck have had "ups and downs" in their relationship over the years, but said they have a special bond and that he didn't want the public to attack his costar for not speaking up after the docuseries' release. Bell shared similar comments in a video posted on TikTok in which he asked fans to "take it a little easy" on Peck for not speaking out publicly.

Since the letters were made public in the docuseries, directors Beth and Rich Correll have also publicly apologized to Bell for supporting the acting coach.

"If we had known the truth at the time the letters were written, we never would have written them," they said, in part, in a statement to Variety.

In April, Bell shared a post on X revealing that he's spoken to "Boy Meets World" star Rider Strong, one of the celebrities who wrote a letter in support of Peck.

"I just had the most amazing conversation with @RiderStrong we are all healing together. I have nothing but love and forgiveness for him," Bell wrote.

Josh Peck said that he contacted his 'Drake & Josh' costar Drake Bell privately to offer his support

Nickelodeon

"I finished the 'Quiet On Set 'documentary and took a few days to process it," Peck wrote in a post shared on Instagram. "I reached out to Drake privately, but want to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world. Children should be protected."

"Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry," he added.

'The Amanda Show' star Raquel Lee Bolleau said that appearing in the docuseries and watching it back has resulted in 'deep pain'

"I've been in deep pain the past few days watching the documentary 'Quiet on Set,'" Bolleau said in an Instagram post. "To know that I am not alone in some of the things I experienced as a child actor, but to also hear the types of environments I was in as a kid without even knowing, just sickens my stomach. I know that everything happens for a reason and we all deserve to heal from our trauma, but this is so hard to take in."

Bolleau said she grappled with being part of "Quiet on Set" out of fear that she wouldn't find work after speaking out, but she felt that it's important "that we all begin our healing, now that we have more clarity and truth."

Devon Werkheiser apologized to Bell after he and his costars from 'Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide' joked about the allegations from 'Quiet on Set'

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"Ned's Declassified" ran for three seasons between 2004 and 2007 on Nickelodeon.

During a TikTok livestream with costars Lindsey Shaw and Daniel Curtis Lee, Werkheiser joked, "Daniel, we told you never to speak about that. Get back in your hole, Daniel, and give me your holes!"

Werkheiser tried to walk back his comment immediately afterward, saying, "Sorry, we shouldn't joke about this. We really shouldn't. Our set was not like that."

Werkheiser said that the allegations were "fucking awful."

"The Drake Bell shit, that's crazy to hear," he said. "That is fucked. And that never came out, which is really wild."

Bell saw the video and slammed Werkheiser after a fan uploaded the livestream on X.

In response, Werkheiser shared an apology on X.

"I was being an idiot today. No way around it," he wrote. "I feel horrible that my dumbass was even speaking about this without seeing it."

"I watched 'Quiet on Set' tonight and am horrified by the gravity of what Drake and others shared," he continued. "Truly heartbroken about what my fellow actors went through. I can't believe they weren't protected. I'm sorry for compounding any hurt."

'Zoey 101' star Jack Salvatore made surprising allegations about his time working on several Nickelodeon shows

Nickelodeon

Salvatore starred as Mark Del Figgalo on "Zoey 101" and the 2023 film sequel "Zoey 102." In a video shared on Instagram, the actor said he also worked as an intern in the production department on "iCarly" and the writers' rooms on "Sam & Cat" and "Victorious."

Salvatore said that "Quiet on Set" did a good job of exposing the workplace toxicity on Schneider's shows. But he also brought up fresh allegations about Schneider.

"We could talk about the massages," he said. "We could talk about the fact that we would literally count his gold coin collection in front of his crew who were living paycheck to paycheck. We could talk about how he would sometimes bring out a shotgun to scare one of the writers when they were working at his house."

Salvatore also said that he overheard "high-level conversations" regarding "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat" star Jennette McCurdy.

"We could talk about the high-level conversations I wasn't supposed to hear about how Nickelodeon didn't want to recommend antidepressants for Jennette McCurdy after her mom died for fear that she might kill herself and make the network look bad," he alleged.

"But what I do want to talk about is never letting this stuff happen again," Salvatore continued. "This is an entire industry built on hope and dreams and adrenaline and wish fulfillment. And that can be a very dangerous thing for megalomaniacs to wield."

Salvatore said that he was "a little afraid" of his career being impacted because of his decision to speak out. Ultimately, he posted the video anyway, "because if my silence ensures the perpetuation of environments I don't want to work in anymore, then what is the point of working in them?"

Salvatore also said that he wouldn't accept Schneider's apology until the producer sat down for a proper interview with real journalists, instead of actor BooG!e, aka Bobby Bowman, who played T-Bo on "iCarly."

(Business Insider has reached out to Schneider but did not receive an immediate response.)

Nancy Sullivan, who played Bell's mom on 'Drake & Josh,' voiced her support for the actor

SGranitz/WireImage

Sullivan starred on "The Amanda Show" before playing Audrey Parker-Nichols on "Drake & Josh."

"They weren't my real kids, but I'll always love them," Sullivan captioned an old photo of Bell that she posted on Instagram. "It broke my heart into a million pieces to hear just how much Drake was holding inside while we were working together."

"I was both devastated and proud seeing the man he's grown into sit down on camera and bravely tell his truth," she continued. "Past abuse doesn't define us, and it has no right to rule our lives, I know that putting this burden down will free him in so many ways. I hope memories of the joy he had on our shows will someday greatly overshadow the pain."

"Sending love to Drake for a deep healing and for a rich and beautiful life ahead," Sullivan wrote.

Bryan Hearne, a cast member on seasons 7 and 8 of 'All That,' thanked fans for their support

Hearne and his mom, Tracey Brown, both appeared in the docuseries to discuss their experiences on the set of the Nickelodeon show.

"I feel very honored to have been given the opportunity to share my story," Hearne said in a video posted on Instagram. "It's definitely hard as a Black man in Hollywood, let alone a Black child. I couldn't see what my mom was doing for me at the time, but I'm very grateful to her for being the kick-ass mom that she was, that she is."

"I wanted to give a shoutout to every child star," Hearne added. "If you were dealing with your own triggers watching this documentary, I feel you. I'm here for you."

'Game Shakers' star Madisyn Shipman defended Schneider in a lengthy statement posted on Instagram

"Many of the comments I have received in reference to my support of Dan Schneider really has hurt my heart," Shipman wrote. "The way our society judges someone is disheartening to me. I will always stand up for what's right for me and my experience is my experience."

Shipman said that she wasn't trying to discredit the experiences of others who have spoken out, but added that the negative comments directed at her were unfair.

"I will always live my life with a pure heart and speak up for the people that are in my corner and you should too!" she said.