Sex Jokes, Massage Requests, and Humiliation: A Timeline of Nickelodeon’s Dark History

Before Nickelodeon showrunner Dan Schneider parted ways with the slime-covered network in 2018, Schneider served as the face of the network. He spearheaded several successful tween shows like The Amanda Show, starring Amanda Bynes, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101 (starring Jamie Lynn Spears), iCarly, and Victorious. Despite the incredible success of the tween-angst comedies, a new docuseries has revealed the stark reality behind the scenes within Schneider-affiliated shows. In the four-part docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Nickelodeon crew members, child actors, and parents detail a toxic work environment marked by misogynistic comments in the writers room, sexual misconduct by crew members, and sexual innuendos plugged into kids programming. 

Since the release of the Investigation Discovery docuseries, more former Schneider employees have spoken up. Jack Ryan producer Amy Berg worked as Schneider’s assistant for less than a year and described him as a “psychological tormenter” and alleges suffering “panic attacks” while working for him. Other former child actors have described feeling “intimidated” by the hitmaker’s potential to transform their future careers. Schneider has since apologized for his “rude” behavior in a video interview, and acknowledged long work hours overwhelmed employees. Here’s a timeline of sexual misconduct allegations, gender discrimination lawsuits, and hush money claims former Nickelodeon employees described at the slime-covered network. 

Late 1990s to Early 2000s: What Happened Between Schneider and Amanda Bynes?

In Quiet on Set, former All That child actors recalled that Schneider had a personal favorite: Amanda Bynes. Bynes, who joined the show in 1996, could make Schneider laugh, they said, which led to one-on-one pitch meetings, and the eventual creation of The Amanda Show in 1999. Although no one alleges misconduct, the two established a close relationship — which included some questionable appearances, like one episode featuring the two in a hot tub, where Bynes wore a one-piece while the showrunner was fully clothed. 

At the same time, Bynes was butting heads with her parents. One former All That cast member, Katrina Johnson, described Bynes’ father treating the young starlet like a “wind-up doll” and placed pressure on her professional life. Bynes looked to Schneider for help after she attempted to run away from home, investigative journalist Kate Taylor explains on Quiet on Set, and tries to get emancipated from her parents. When a teen is emancipated, it allows kids to work additional hours and earn more money. In 2002, People magazine reported Bynes attempted to live with Schneider and his wife Lisa Lillien, although Lillien has said she never moved in. After the emancipation case failed, Schneider was unable to restore ties with Bynes’ parents. Ultimately The Amanda Show ran for four seasons and the pair worked together on the Warner Bros. sitcom What I Like About You. 

2000: Why did former writers sue for gender discrimination?

In Quiet on Set, two former The Amanda Show writers, Christy Stratton and Jenny Kilgen, describe having to split a single writer’s salary for their first Nickelodeon gig. Schneider often took jokes too far, the two writers say. In one writers room meeting, Kilgen alleges, Schneider asked Stratton to lean over the table and pretend to be “sodomized” as she presented a high school sketch idea. The off-color jokes continued — while working on Season Two, Kilgen said in the doc, Schneider asked if she used to do “phone sex” during a pitch meeting, humiliating her. Kilgen said that moment marked the last straw. 

“There was no way I was going to be the only woman in that fucking world with him,” Kilgen said. 

By 2000, Kilgen hired a lawyer and filed complaints against The Amanda Show production company alleging gender discrimination and a hostile work environment. After an internal investigation, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. 

“I knew that this was the end of my career, so it better be worth it,” Kilgen said.  

2003 – 2004: What did Nickelodeon crew members Jason Handy and Brian Peck do? 

Jason Handy, who worked on The Amanda Show and All That, often escorted child actors on set as a production assistant and seemed friendly on the surface, according to former child actors in the docuseries. Child actors and parents later learned that Handy was a sexual predator. One woman in the docuseries, MJ, describes her then 11-year-old daughter becoming friends with him, and Handy later sending her daughter an email with an image of him masturbating. Investigative journalist Taylor also asserts in the docuseries that Handy repeatedly kissed a nine-year-old child actor who worked on Cousin Skeeter, telling her that he could advance her career. 

Los Angeles police arrested 28-year-old Handy in 2003 for a lewd act with a child under age 14. Law enforcement searched Handy’s home, after receiving a tip of inappropriate behavior, and found a trove of child pornography including 10,000 images of children. Within the images, 1,768 featured young girls in erotic poses, 238 images of young girls in sexually explicit poses, and 2 images of girls in “bondage activity,” the docuseries details. While searching his home, Taylor explains law enforcement found a CD with sexually explicit content involving minors and journals where Handy wrote he’s a “pedofile, full blown” and “I even struggle on a day to day basis of how I can find a victim to rape if I have to.” MJ’s daughter later testifies in court, and Handy is sentenced to six years behind bars, on two felony counts including a lewd act on a child, and a misdemeanor in 2004. 

Around the same time, dialogue coach Brian Peck, who also worked on The Amanda Show and All That, established a close relationship with soon-to-be Drake & Josh star Drake Bell. Peck became an extension of Bell’s life: attending Bell’s concerts, hosting his 15th birthday celebration, inviting him to Disneyland, and allowing him to spend the night at his Los Angeles home. Bell alleges in the docuseries that at age 15, 41-year-old Peck began “sexually assaulting” him. Bell described feeling “trapped,” and helpless without the ability to drive himself too and from on-set work.   

“Anytime I had an audition or needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house,” Bell says. “And it just got worse and worse and worse.”

Los Angeles police arrested Peck in August 2003 on several charges including lewd acts with a child that occurred about two years prior at his Los Angeles home, according to a Los Angeles police press release. Peck coached the victim, the release states, and the family reported Peck had molested the child over a six month period. In 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of child sexual abuse, was sentenced to 16 months in jail, and ordered to register as a sex offender.

“Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,” a Nickelodeon spokesperson previously told Rolling Stone in a statement.

Jury Duty’s James Marsden, Saturday Night Live’s Taran Killam, and Boy Meets World actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong all sent letters supporting Peck during his court case, the documentary detailed. Schneider did not write a letter, with Bell adding, “The only person I remember being there for me is Dan.” 

2022: What has Jennette McCurdy said about Dan Schneider?

More than a decade later, iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy published her memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died alleging the kids network offered her $300,000 in “hush money” to prevent her from publicly discussing her show experience and relationship with a man she referred to as “The Creator.” McCurdy doesn’t explicitly identify who The Creator is, though, in the docuseries, images of iCarly creator Schneider are mentioned after excerpts of McCurdy’s book, with Taylor adding Schneider would “humiliate” or “fire” an employee when they made a mistake.

“I feel like The Creator has two distinct sides. One is generous and over-the-top complimentary…The other side is mean-spirited, controlling, and terrifying,” McCurdy wrote in her memoir. 

In the memoir, McCurdy also details a dinner with The Creator, before the release of Sam & Cat, where he persuaded the 18-year-old actress to drink alcohol and later she wrote he “place[d] a hand on my knee,” placed his coat around her (believing she was cold), and began patting and massaging her. 

“I want to say something, to tell him to stop, but I’m so scared of offending him,” McCurdy wrote. 

Nickelodeon launched an internal investigation amid the stressful work environment on Sam & Cat, which is detailed in the docuseries, and Schneider was no longer allowed to work on set with the child stars. (Schneider claims he was not barred from working with actors but chose to give notes from his office, according to a statement provided by Schneider in the docuseries.) 

2024: Has Schneider apologized for anything?

In a video interview posted Tuesday, Schneider addressed allegations of creating a toxic workplace made by former colleagues in Quiet on Set, and apologized for his “over-ambitious” behavior. During the 19-minute interview, conducted by former Nick star BooG!e (iCarly’s T-Bo), Schneider says he did not hire dialogue coach Brian Peck, who Drake & Josh star Drake Bell alleges sexually assaulted him. Schneider also apologized for requesting massages from employees, and expressed regret for participating in inappropriate jokes made in the writers room.  

“Most writers, TV writers are aware that a lot of times there are inappropriate jokes made and inappropriate topics come up, but the fact that I participated in that especially since I was leading the room, it embarrasses me,” Schneider said in the interview.

The former showrunner also discussed what Nickelodeon colleagues allege were sexual jokes plugged into kids programming, and said if parents disapproved of the network-approved skits, he’d cut the jokes from the show. Schneider wraps the interview by encouraging the use of on-set licensed therapists to ensure kid actors know the long-term implications of becoming a young star, and apologizes for his “obnoxious” demeanor behind the scenes. 

“I didn’t show enough patience,” Schneider said in the video. “I could be cocky and definitely over-ambitious, and sometimes just straight up rude and obnoxious and I’m sorry that I ever was.”