‘QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV’ EXPOSES TOXIC WORKING ENVIRONMENT ON DAN SCHNEIDER’S POPULAR TEEN TV SERIES OF THE 1990s AND EARLY 2000s
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV to premiere across two nights on ID beginning Sunday, 7 April at 21h00 CAT
[Johannesburg, SA]: Investigation Discovery Africa, the leading true crime network, is set to premiere QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV, a four-part docuseries that uncovers the toxic and dangerous culture behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
QUIET ON SET pulls back the curtain on an empire built by creator Dan Schneider that had an undeniable grip on popular culture. Series such as All That and The Amanda Show, among others, were obsessively consumed by children across the country and defined comedy for a generation. But behind the upbeat onscreen presence on these shows with questionable jokes and over-the-top sketches, QUIET ON SET reveals an insidious environment rife with allegations of abuse, sexism, racism, and inappropriate dynamics with its underage stars and crew.
QUIET ON SET features unprecedented access to key cast members, writers, and crew spanning Schneider’s popular series at Nickelodeon. Former All That cast members Giovonnie Samuels, Kyle Sullivan, Bryan Hearne and Katrina Johnson and director Virgil Fabian pull back the curtain on the culture on the set of the beloved teen sketch series. In The Amanda Show writer’s room, writers Jenny Kilgen and Christy Stratton expose allegations of a toxic and sexist environment. Alexa Nikolas offers insight into being a part of Zoey 101. QUIET ON SET will feature additional cast and crew from iCarly, Sam & Cat, Victorious, and other iconic series, such as Marc Summers from the popular game show Double Dare. The series will also offer emotional testimony from parents of cast members who attempted to advocate for their children on these sets.
Over the course of its four parts, QUIET ON SET will shine a spotlight on these emotional accounts, chronicling a pattern of gross, abusive, and manipulative behaviour that unfolded across decades, as well as exclusive stories about child predators on set. These interviews, woven with archival footage (some of which has never been broadcast), scenes from the shows and social media commentary, will recontextualise many moments within these series that may have seemed silly or off when first aired but now carry a much darker undertone, offering a powerful reframing of these beloved shows.
QUIET ON SET is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz and produced by Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television – Nonfiction in association with Business Insider.
QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV will premiere across two nights, Sunday, 7 April and Sunday, 14 April, from 21:00 – 23:00 CAT on Investigation Discovery (ID) Africa with two episodes back-to-back each week.