Dan Schneider is a television writer, actor, and producer who was linked with the kids’ channel Nickelodeon for years. He created numerous shows under the banner of his production company, Schneider’s Bakery, for the kids channel until 2018, when he parted ways with them. The decision was made after Schneider was accused of being verbally abusive and volatile towards his cast and crew.
The parent company of Nickelodeon, ViacomCBS, conducted an investigation after the allegations. And though they found evidence of him being verbally abusive towards his colleagues, there was no evidence of s*xual harrasment or abuse. But given the circumstances, Nickelodeon found it in their best interest to part ways with the creator in 2018.
New Docuseries Shows The Dark Side of Kids TV
A four-part docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, is set to be released by Investigation Discovery. The trailer for the docuseries, which was recently made public, showcases the toxic work culture in some of the most popular kids shows from the 1990s and 2000s, including the shows created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon.
In the trailer, a former employee can be seen saying, “Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship,” while another claimed that Schneider’s “treatment of people on his shows was an open secret.”
According to IMDb, the synopsis reads,
A docu-series that uncovers the toxic culture behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Ex-employees of Nickelodeon are seen accusing the former creator of abuse, sexism, racism, and imbalanced power dynamics. The cast members, who were mostly kids, did not have a great time on the set of the shows.
Dan Schneider and Team Denies All Allegations
After the trailer for the docuseries was released, a spokesperson of Dan Schneider made a statement, saying,
“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.”
Back in 2021, Dan Schneider told The New York Times,
“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.”
In 2022, when Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas alleged that the showrunner sat in on her costume fittings, Schneider denied all allegations. Now, the new docuseries is back with another round of allegations.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV will air on Investigation Discovery from March 17 and 18, 2024.
