It’s Not Just Nickelodeon: Quiet on Set Exposes Hollywood’s Darkest Side

The entertainment industry is naturally exploitative.

Last summer, Sound of Freedom surprised many with a massive box office success that opened many people’s eyes to the ongoing reality of child exploitation. Now, a hit show from Investigation Discovery reveals that some of those children suffering abuse aren’t as far away as we might have thought.

The exposé docu-series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV highlights the exploitative nature of kids entertainment in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The show signals out Nickelodeon, the first cable channel created for kids, which quickly rose to prominence after it was launched in 1979.

“For a certain generation, the Nickelodeon jingle is burned into our brain,” explains former Nickelodeon actress Katrina Johnson in an episode of Quiet on Set.

Nickelodeon took “kid everything” to a new level, creating a mini-Hollywood for kids centered around their own award shows, trophies, and red carpets. Marc Summers, host of the Nickelodeon stunt show Double Dare, says the channel was never concerned with educating its young audience; instead, it aimed to “have fun.”

“In the mid-’90s, Nickelodeon was pushing the boundaries of kids entertainment,” says Kate Taylor, a reporter for Business Insider who was featured on the show.

This approach evidently worked — Nickelodeon achieved massive popularity and even went on to significantly shape pop culture. As Quiet on Set reveals, however, the channel’s boundary-pushing went beyond the content.

According to the docu-series, members of All That’s production team intentionally attempted to break down the relationships between the child actors and their parents, and Nickelodeon staff ignored the repeated harassment of female writers by favored producer Dan Schneider. Additionally, multiple sets were riddled with high-profile cases of sexual abuse, such as that experienced by The Amanda Show’s Drake Bell, who was assaulted by his dialogue coach.

Unfortunately, as a recent United Nations report reveals, the problems highlighted by Quiet on Set are not limited to Nickelodeon or one era of filming but, rather, are “widespread” throughout Hollywood. The extent of the abuse has even caused the U.N. to call for “urgent action” to provide “improved protection for children and young people who go into show business.” This protection is necessary, the U.N. report explains, as children being subjected to grooming and other forms of sexual exploitation is considered “the norm” in the entertainment industry. Many of these children are trapped by fear, which prevents them from coming forward and telling their stories.

This is exactly what happened on Nickelodeon sets.

All That veteran Leon Frierson says the overt power dynamics on set often led him to act in ways that made him feel uncomfortable. “In the moments to myself,” he explains in one Quiet on Set episode. “I’d just be thinking that this is what we got to do to be on the show and stay in the cast and in the good graces of the people that were higher up.”

Much of the abuse exposed by Quiet on Set happened under Schneider, who helped catapult the channel to success in the late 1990s and early 2000s with his work on All That, The Amanda Show, and other hits like Drake & Josh, iCarly, and Zoey 101. Schneider not only harassed female writers; he also encouraged the inclusion of inappropriate content in shows intended for children as young as 6 years old. Lines intended as humor often contained sexual innuendos, and scenes hypersexualized the young actors.

Schneider admitted the truth of many of these allegations in a video posted to YouTube after the docu-series’ premiere, calling his past behavior “embarrassing.”

“Watching [Quiet on Set] … was very difficult with me facing my past behaviors, some of which are pretty embarrassing, and I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” Schneider confessed. “Look, I wanted to make funny TV shows for kids, and we definitely did that, but if I could go back, I would get it done in different ways.”

Schneider is just one of many high-profile producers in Hollywood facing allegations of harassment or inappropriate behavior, joining prominent names like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. 

Repeated experiences with abuse led to many child stars later engaging in self-destructive behaviors like alcoholism, drug addiction, and repeated criminal convictions. Quiet on Set directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz have said they hope the success of the show will encourage other former child stars to come forward.

“One of the goals of the series is to help spark a broader conversation around these issues. And I certainly know that there’s a lot more people with a lot more stories out there,” Schwartz told Us Weekly. “[W]e would love to be able to keep telling those stories if more people want to speak and share.”

As Quiet on Set reveals, Hollywood has yet another dark side, one that harms the most vulnerable of society. Consumers should think twice about continuing to support it.