Topline
Former kids’ show producer Dan Schneider—who ran hit Nickelodeon shows like “Zoey 101” and “All That”—apologized for his on-set behavior in an interview with a former cast member, breaking his silence after a new Investigation Discovery docuseries analyzing allegations of toxic workplace culture on Schnieder’s shows.
Key Facts
Schneider released an interview Tuesday afternoon between himself and BooG!E, who played T-Bo on Schneider’s show “iCarly,” in which he apologized and said watching the show and “facing my past behaviors” was “very difficult.”
He apologized for asking people for massages on set and for making writers feel uncomfortable, saying he is “embarrassed” by how he ran a writers’ room and admitting there were times he “said things that went too far” because he was “inexperienced” and “immature” and he’s “really sorry it happened.”
Schneider said if he could go back, the main thing he would change “is how I treat people,” saying: “I definitely at times didn’t give people the best of me. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely over ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I am so sorry.”
Though Schneider was apologetic, he also used the interview to clear up what he called “rumors,” including saying he was never kicked off of his own set and that he didn’t have the “power to just produce whatever I wanted” because of his success.
The video statements from Schneider came just one day after an unnamed representative for him told multiple news outlets in a statement that “everything that happened on the shows Dan ran was carefully scrutinized by dozens of involved adults, and approved by the network.”
News Peg
Investigation Discovery released its four-episode docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Sunday and Monday. The series provides “the untold story of the toxic and abusive environment inside ’90s kids’ TV” and features interviews with former child stars and crew members who alleged Schnieder ran a toxic workplace and was inappropriate to young actors on his shows.
Crucial Quote
“When I watched the show, I could see the hurt in some people’s eyes and it made me feel awful and regretful and sorry,” Schneider said in the video. “I wish I could go back, especially to those earlier years of my career, and bring the growth and the experience that I have now and just do a better job and never, ever feel like it was okay to be an asshole to anyone, ever.”
Key Background
Investigation Discovery’s docuseries focused primarily on the toxic culture of Schneider’s shows, including Amanda Bynes’ “The Amanda Show,” Miranda Cosgrove’s “iCarly” and Victoria Justice’s “Victorious.” The docuseries wasn’t the first time Schneider has been the subject of accusations. Jeannette McCurdy alleged in her 2022 memoir that a person only referred to as “The Creator,” but widely believed to be Schneider, pressured her to drink while underage, yelled at her during a kissing scene and “explicitly” requested bikinis be included in a wardrobe fitting. Alex Nikolas, who starred in “Zoey 101” and spoke in “Quiet on Set” had previously alleged Schneider was present for her wardrobes and she always had to wear short skirts. Schneider had previously denied that he made child actors uncomfortable, telling the New York Times in 2021 he “never interacted with actors in any way, texting or otherwise, that should make anyone uncomfortable,” and Nickelodeon’s former president of content and production Russell Hicks defended Schneider, saying all of his scripts were approved and parents were always on set, meaning everything he did was “carefully scrutinized and approved.”
Tangent
In the video, Schneider also clarified he did not hire Brian Peck, a former Nickelodeon dialogue coach who was arrested, is a registered sex offender and served prison time for lewd acts with a minor while coaching the victim, according to a statement for the Los Angeles Police Department. In “Quiet on Set,” “Drake & Josh” star Drake Bell revealed himself to be the John Doe in the Peck case and alleges Peck sexually abused him when he was 15. In Tuesday’s video, Schneider teared up when talking about Bell’s experience and said he “did not hire Brian Peck,” adding: “I was more devastated by that than anything that’s ever happened to me in my career thus far.”
