Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has come up with a 4-episode long documentary detailing the workplace culture of Nickelodeon from the 1990s, and early 2000s. In the episodes that are already out, the documentary has listed a number of actors and writers, who came forward with details on how they were treated working at Nickelodeon, and especially under executive producer, Dan Schneider.
Dan Schneider also made headlines a few years back after a ViacomCBS investigation against him. Though it did not find any evidence of s*xual misconduct, it did conclude that Schneider was verbally abusive on set. This led to him parting ways with Nickelodeon back in 2018. And now, with the docuseries opening all the hidden locks, Schneider’s ex-assistant has made her own stance in the whole debate public.
Dan Schneider’s Former Assistant Calls Him an A*shole
Amy Berg, who previously worked under Dan Schneider as an assistant when he worked at Nickelodeon, recently released a statement regarding all the rumors that are flying around about the producer. She recaĺled that being Schneider’s assistant was her very first job in Hollywood, and the whole experience left a very negative impression on her. She wrote in X (formerly Twitter):
“During my year with Dan, I wasn’t aware of any physically inappropriate behavior. What I can confirm, however, is that he was a f—ing asshole. A psychological tormenter.”
She further added that working under him had given her psychological as well as physical issues.
“He introduced me to panic attacks, and the stress of working for him caused me to develop a significant heart arrhythmia. I eventually had surgery to (mostly) correct the issue, but by that point I’d lost all of my 20s. He stole those years from me.”
In 2021, The New York Times released a detailed report on how abusive and harassing Dan Schneider was on set – to cast and crew alike – including the actors, most of whom were minors.
Instances of S*xual Harassment in The Writer’s Room
Back in season one of The Amanda Show, there were only two female writers on set – Jenny Kilgen and Christy Stratton. Both women recalled being in situations where it was clear that things weren’t going to be easy for them, and thought that Dan Schneider was not someone they were comfortable working under. Kilgen told EW:
“Dan got worse and worse as the season got on. Because I was a first-time writer, I didn’t know what was acceptable and not acceptable. And so Christy and I both did things that were uncomfortable.”
She further added,
“Dan was showing pornography on his computer screen. He asked me several times to massage him in the writers’ room and in the studio… He would always present it like a joke, and he would be laughing while he said it. But you always felt like disagreeing with Dan or standing up for yourself could result in you getting fired.”
Many such instances of indecent behavior by Schneider have been made public in the last few years. And though he has apologized for not being a complete professional, he has also denied most of the charges levied against him.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is available for streaming on Max.
