Investigation Discovery has greenlit a new, fifth episode of docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV that will delve deeper in into the toxic and dangerous culture behind some of the most iconic kids’ television shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s, including allegations of abuse, sexism and racism.
Premiering Sunday, April 7 8/7c on ID, Breaking the Silence will feature former Nickelodeon child stars from the early 2000s, including Drake Bell. Some reunite for the first time to share their reactions to Quiet on Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV.
Participants previously featured in Quiet on Set, including Bell, All That cast members Giovonnie Samuels and Bryan Hearne, Hearne’s mother, Tracey Brown,as well as new voices including former All That cast member Shane Lyons, will appear on the episode with O’Brien for a discussion about the industry, then and now.
“With Breaking the Silence, we’re digging deeper into the crucial conversations the docuseries ignited and exploring the lingering questions left in their wake to provide further insight from the brave voices who’ve spoken out previously and those who are coming forward again,” said Jason Sarlanis, President, TNT, TBS, TruTV, ID & HLN, Linear and Streaming.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV has been watched by more than 16 million viewers, according to ID and Max/discovery+, with the largest audience of an unscripted series since the launch of Max. Building off the revelations explored in the first four episodes, journalist Soledad O’Brien will lead the conversation in the new episode to discuss where the industry can go from here.
Over its four-parts, Quiet on Set, which first premiered on Sunday, March 17, offered unprecedented access to key cast members, writers, and crew spanning Dan Schneider’s popular series at Nickelodeon and spotlighted their emotional accounts. It also chronicles a pattern of gross, emotionally and verbally abusive, and manipulative behavior that unfolds across decades and recounts stories about child predators on set. In the docuseries, former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, shared publicly, for the first time ever, the abuse he suffered at the hands of Brian Peck – his former dialogue coach who was convicted in 2004 for crimes against Drake and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz and produced by Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television – Nonfiction in association with Business Insider.