The Craziest Things We Learned From The “Quiet On Set” Documentary

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV shows us the behind-the-scenes “abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew.” Here are the shocking revelations that we have learned so far.

Dan Schneider’s Affinity for “Sexualized” Scenes Involving Children

Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider has been under fire for years for directing scenes that seemingly sexualize children. In one Zoey 101 episode, actress Alexa Nikolas opened up about her discomfort with filming a scene in which goo is sprayed on co-star Jamie Lynn Spears. She recalled the time when her co-stars told her that it looked like a "cum shot."

There are also multiple episodes of underaged actresses showing off the soles of their feet, with many alleging that the disgraced producer had a foot fetish. 

Leon Frierson from All That, for example, was just a growing boy when they made him wear a tight spandex suit. He was given a prosthetic nose, and they placed the same feature on the sides of his costume. The shape of the nose resembled a penis and testicles. In one scene, he sneezed and mucus landed on a woman's face. "The joke in that sketch is effectively a cum shot joke," notes Scaachi Koul in episode one. 

Schneider also seemed to have an obsession with children's feet. He denied these allegations, stating that he wrote these scenes because they were humorous, but publicly apologized in a 19-minute video interview. "Watching over the past two nights was very difficult—me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” he said. 

Nickelodeon Producers Described As “Abusive”  

Frierson's All That co-star Katrin Johnson remembers being called fat by one of the producers when she was a minor. Later on, she discusses going to a comedy workshop at the Laugh Factory. Nickelodeon employees had gone to support Johnson, including Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider. It was then when Amanda Bynes, who performed on stage at the age of seven, caught the attention of the disgraced producer. The two grew close over time and were even spotted in a hot tub together. Many believe that Schneider abused Bynes after her alleged secret X (formerly Twitter) account was found, in which the user claimed that she got pregnant by her boss at 13.

The writers said that working for Schneider in The Amanda Show was “one of the most disturbing” experiences they had in their careers. “Working for Dan was like being in an abusive relationship,” former writer Christy Stratton said. 

Another writer, Jenny Kilgen, revealed that the writing salary was split between her and Stratton. Early in their careers, Schneider reportedly became sexist, telling them that female writers were not funny – but because Kilgen was a first-time writer, she had no idea what was acceptable or unacceptable. “Dan was showing pornography on his computer screen. He’d ask me several times to massage him in the writers’ room and in the studio,” she said. 

One of the worst moments was when Schneider allegedly asked Stratton to lean over the table and act like she was being sodomized. She said no but was pressured to do so regardless. When Stratton was asked about this, she nervously laughed and shook her head. “I just think about that poor girl and what she had to, you know, go through,” she recalled. 

The showrunner also had a lot of power on set. The actors and staff tried to get Schneider to like them; otherwise, they could kiss their jobs goodbye. Schneider’s anger reportedly got worse as time went on, and he would continue to mistreat his employees. Two writers sued him for gender discrimination, and the case was settled. 

Schneider left Nickelodeon in 2018 after an investigation found he verbally mistreated multiple staff members.

Nickelodeon Production Assistant Jason Handy Sent a Minor Nude Pictures

The mother of a former Amanda Show actress, identified as Brandi, described the time when Jason Handy befriended her child. At first, she saw no harm in the two exchanging emails – until one day, she witnessed Brandi suddenly shutting her computer and running to her bedroom. “I said, ‘Brandi, what is wrong?’” the mom recalled. “She started to cry, and she said, ‘I got an email from Jason.’ It was a picture of him naked, masturbating.” 

In the early 2000s, Handy, then 28, was arrested for lewd acts with children after allegedly kissing and touching a 9-year-old girl. An investigation was prompted, and Handy’s residence was searched in 2003. Officials found over “10,000 images of children, 1,768 images of young girls in erotic poses, 238 images of young girls in sexually explicit poses, two images of girls in bondage activity and two CDs, with one containing seven video files of minors engaging in sexually explicit activity,” according to The Wrap. Handy also referred to himself as a “pedophile” and kept Ziploc bags with girls’ names on them and their “tokens.” He got a prison sentence of only six years for his crimes.

The Los Angeles Times reported that following Handy's release in 2009, he moved to North Carolina, where he registered as a sex offender. Authorities arrested the then-40-year-old in 2014 after he was charged with three counts of indecent liberties with a child and two counts of sex offender registry violations.

Jason Handy is now currently incarcerated in the Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia, with a release date of August 28, 2038, per ComingSoon.Net.

Brian Peck, All That Actor, Abused Drake Bell 

Brian Peck played a strange character who went by "Pickle Boy" in All That. He had a lot of scenes involving pickles, which appeared to be a cover-up for penises.

What's worse is that Peck had a friendship with murdered John Wayne Gacy, also known as the "Killer Clown." Gacy dressed in clown attire and was convicted of raping and murdering 33 boys and young men in the '70s.

Peck was arrested in 2003 for lewd acts with a minor while coaching the victim at his home. The investigation was prompted after the minor's family informed police that Peck had abused the child over the course of six months. In October 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was registered as a sex offender. That victim turned out to be Drake Bell, who revealed himself as the abused child in Peck's case in episode 2.

Peck manipulated Bell to convince his dad to stop being his own manager, severing their relationship. His father told his mom to never allow Bell to be alone with Peck, but she didn't listen. “He figured out how to convince my mom and everyone around to, anytime I would have an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house, and it just got worse and worse and worse and worse. I was just trapped. I had no way out,” said the Drake and Josh star. “The abuse was extensive, and it got pretty brutal. I don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera, really…"

When Bell was asked what happened between him and the pedophile, he shifted in his chair and said, "Why don’t you think of the worst thing someone can do to someone that is sexual assault, and that’ll answer your question.” Brian Peck lives in Los Angeles, California, and is a free man despite his harrowing crimes.

Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.