Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of abuse and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Quiet on Set‘s episode 5, “Breaking the Silence,” premiered on Investigation Discovery, revealing more details about Nickelodeon’s dark side. According to People Magazine, the latest installment featured journalist Soledad O’Brien alongside former child actors, who appeared in the previous four episodes. O’Brien and the stars, Drake Bell, Bryan Hearne, Giovonnie Samuels, and other guests discussed bombshell revelations from the documentary.
Previously, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV investigated allegations surrounding one-time Nickelodeon writer-producer Dan Schneider. Former child actors and crew members alleged that they worked in a toxic environment on Schneider’s show sets fueled by racism, sexism, and sexual assault. The docuseries also explored allegations against former production assistant Jason Handy and dialogue coach Brian Peck. Both Peck and Handy are now registered as sex offenders.
Quiet on Set episode 5 dives deeper into the claims as Soledad O’Brien interviews Drake Bell, Bryan Hearne, Giovonnie Samuels, Shane Lyons, and others. The stars returned to discuss the response they received after the first four episodes.
The docuseries aired on March 17 and March 18 with four episodes. Episode 5, titled “Breaking the Silence,” premiered this Sunday, April 7, 2024, as a bonus installment.
What did former Nickelodeon stars discuss in Quiet on Set episode 5 ‘Breaking the Silence’?
Quiet on Set episode 5 begins with Drake & Josh alum Drake Bell, per People Magazine. Bell discusses the letters of support that Boy Meets World actors Will Friedle and Rider Strong sent for his abuser, Brian Peck. The docuseries previously revealed that Bell was the anonymous teenager whose accusations resulted in Peck’s 2004 conviction. The disgraced dialogue coach had pleaded no contest to a charge of oral copulation with a minor under 16 and performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old. He received a 16-month sentence and registered as a sex offender afterward.
The outlet stated that Friedle and Strong had written letters of support for their friend Peck back then. However, after recent revelations, the duo, who hosts the podcast Pod Meets World, claimed in an episode that they regretted sending the letters. One of the four-episode episodes of the documentary featured these letters for the first time.
In Quiet on Set episode 5, Drake Bell, who appeared through video chat, had some things to say about the letters. Bell said he and Will Friedle worked on Disney XD’s Spider-Man together after the incident. Despite having the “opportunity to apologize or talk about it, Friedle “never did.” The Drake & Josh actor added that it is “a very difficult subject to bring up. Especially in a work environment.”
Friedle and Strong revealed in their podcast episode that Peck displayed himself as “a victim of jailbait.” The former dialogue coach allegedly made them turn “against the victim” by misrepresenting the charges. The actors claimed they “weren’t told the whole story, but it doesn’t change the fact that we did it.” Friedle further said, “I still can’t get the words out to describe all of the things that I’m feeling inside of myself.”
Time Magazine stated in episode 5 of Quiet on Set, O’Brien also interviewed All That alums Giovonnie Samuels and Bryan Hearne. Per People Magazine, the actors had earlier spoken about their Nickelodeon experience as Black child actors on Dan Schneider’s shows. The duo responded to Schneider’s apology video defending himself, which came out after Quiet on Set’s premiere.
Bryan Hearne called Schneider’s apology video “funny.” Hearne said, “Dan was an actor before all of this. And so, I think that he brushed off some chops, and gave us a nice performance.” The actor previously told People Magazine that he was “referred to as a ‘piece of charcoal.'” He recalled a stunt from Nickelodeon’s On-Air Dare when they covered him, then 13, in peanut butter for dogs to lick.
Giovonnie Samuels claimed that a week before Quiet on Set’s premiere, Dan Schneider contacted her for a “quote of support.” Samuels said Schneider knew that she was a part of the documentary. Yet, he asked her, “‘You had a good time on set, right? Right?'” The actress claimed she told the disgraced producer that he terrified her. “I said “You have the power to make people stars. And I was intimidated by you. I wanted to do a good job,'” said Samuels per Business Insider India.
Quiet on Set episode 5 also featured former All That actor Shane Lyons, who spoke out for the first time. People Magazine stated that Lyons recalled having an inappropriate conversation with Brian Peck. The Nickelodeon alum also accused the disgraced dialogue coach of making “passes” at him.
Lyons recalled a green room incident with Peck, sharing, “When he [Peck] asked me what I thought ‘blue balls’ was, I thought they were racket balls.” He described the entire incident, which occurred while he was alone in the green room with Peck. The latter reportedly sat next to the child actor and asked him if he knew “What blue balls are right, Shane?” At the time, Lyon responded to Peck’s question by saying, “Yeah, like racket balls.”
The All That alum claimed he was “a kid, 13 [or] 14” at the time. He added, “As I think back now, as an adult, as a 36-year-old, ‘Would I ever have a conversation with a 13-year-old boy like he had with me?’ No. It makes absolutely zero sense.”
Quiet on Set episode 5, “Breaking the Silence,” is now streaming on Max.
