Quiet on Set: Breaking the Silence Doesn't Let Dan Schneider Have the Last Word

Investigation Discovery has a history of producing sensationalized sequels to popular docuseries — just look at the 11th-hour reveal in The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks — but Quiet on Set: Breaking the Silence defies that trend. Moderated by Soledad O'Brien, the fifth episode of Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is less concerned with making new headlines than reflecting on the harrowing allegations raised in the four-part documentary, which has been watched by over 20 million people and become a cultural phenomenon since it premiered in mid-March.

With O'Brien leading the discussion, Breaking the Silence adopts an air of solemnity as Drake Bell — who has revealed he was sexually abused by All That dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck — processes his experience and weighs in on the public's reaction to the docuseries. Bell makes a compelling argument against child stardom, lamenting that "we've lost so many" talented performers, most notably his co-star Amanda Bynes, to the industry. "I've watched tragedy after tragedy after tragedy in this business," he says, "And it's just heartbreaking."

O'Brien's straightforward approach ensures topics that directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz only glanced at, including allegations that Bell exchanged inappropriate messages with an underage fan (he pleaded guilty to attempted child endangerment charges in 2021), don't go unaddressed. As Josh Spiegel wrote in his review for Primetimer, the first four episodes also lacked important context about Boy Meets World stars Rider Strong and Will Friedle, who recently suggested Peck coerced them into backing him during his child abuse trial. While Bell says he "really appreciate[s]" Strong and Friedle's apology — and Bell has since said he and Strong spoke and are "healing together" — it doesn't change his perspective on the hearing or the surprising amount of support Peck received from famous actors at the time. "Nobody's reached out to me," he tells O'Brien. "Not one person who's written one of those letters [of support for Peck] has reached out to me."

Bell and O'Brien's back-and-forth, which takes up the first 15 minutes of the special, creates the impression that Breaking the Silence is intended as a thoughtful follow-up, a sense that carries over into the next segment with All That cast members Giovonnie Samuels and Bryan Hearne. In the first four episodes, Samuels and Hearne spoke at length about the difficulties of working under prolific Nickelodeon creator Dan Schneider, who fostered a toxic culture in which young actors were afraid to speak up about inappropriate jokes and uncomfortable sketches. Though Bell's testimony about Peck's abuse became its most-discussed moment, Quiet on Set is primarily focused on stories like these, as well as allegations about Schneider's inappropriate behavior and claims that he discriminated against female employees.

For years, Schneider has denied these allegations (Quiet on Set includes written statements from both him and Nickelodeon refuting claims of impropriety), but he finally took some semblance of ownership shortly after the docuseries aired. In a 19-minute video, Schneider, who created hit shows like The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, and Zoey 101, admitted that he "definitely owe[s] some people a pretty strong apology," and he apologized for demanding massages from employees and sexually harassing female writers. He also acknowledged that "some of the on-air dares went too far" on shows like All That, though he denied that the sexually suggestive jokes mentioned in Quiet on Set, included gags in which young female stars had goo squirted on their faces or were slapped with sausages, were actually vulgar.

"Every one of those jokes were written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny," Schneider told former iCarly actor BooG!e. "Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens, and they're saying, 'That's inappropriate for a kids show.'"

Schneider's video could have been the final word on the matter, but Breaking the Silence denies him that unearned privilege. When O'Brien asks about the video, Hearne dismisses Schneider's show of contrition as "a nice performance" from a former actor. "What's an apology without accountability? Where was all of this apologizing when Jennette McCurdy's book came out?" he asks. "Realistically, if you take the inappropriate jokes away, do you have a show anymore? If you take all the foot jokes, take all the face shots, all of that inappropriateness, is it just commercials?"

Hearne and Samuels go on to refute Schneider's "kids-thought-they-were-funny" argument, explaining that the power imbalance between the creator, who had the ability to make or break careers, and the child stars on his shows prevented them from voicing concerns. Samuels told Schneider as much when he asked for "a quote of support" ahead of the documentary's release: "I told him I was terrified of him... I said, 'You had the power to make people stars, and I was intimidated by you. I wanted to do a good job.'"

As the only Black actors on All That, it was even more difficult to say anything negative — a sentiment that's reinforced later in the special, when, in previously unaired footage, The Amanda Show's Raquel Lee Bolleau recalls being advised not to "make too much of a problem" when Bynes repeatedly spit in her face during a scene.

The bulk of Breaking the Silence's "new" content comes in its final act, as former All That cast member Shane Lyons, who did not appear in the first four episodes, claims Peck made "passes" at him during his time on the show, but he rebuffed him. ("I feel very blessed and lucky that nothing like that happened to me," he says of Bell's experience.) Still, Lyons' appearance is most powerful as an indictment of Schneider, whom he accuses of failing to take true accountability by shifting the blame to Nickelodeon executives who approved the content of his shows. "It sounds like the farmer who blames the tractor for the poor harvest. It's like, 'Not me, man,'" he tells O'Brien. "You shirk responsibility. It's pretty simple. When you're not at a point in your life to take ownership of the mistakes you've made, the first thing to do is shift the blame to someone else."

O'Brien also invites the former child stars to look beyond Peck and Schneider, resulting in a damning indictment of the industry as a whole. Lyons expressly calls for legislation that would prevent convicted child abusers from continuing to work in Hollywood, explaining, "Currently, there's a loophole in the law that as long as there's a guardian or a parent omnipresent on the set, they don't have to hire people who go through a background check."

The special ends with their impassioned pleas for change — which have, unfortunately, gotten lost amid the shocking headlines and horrific allegations of abuse levied in Quiet on Set. "I am hoping that the impact sustains, and it's not just a flash in the pan," Lyons says of the immense reaction to the "explosive" docuseries. "There's real change that needs to occur. And I'm hoping this is a first stepping stone for that." With its emphasis on responsible, steady journalism over bombshell revelations, Quiet on Set: Breaking the Silence represents an important part of that journey.

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is streaming on Max and Discovery+. Join the discussion about the show in our forums.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.