Investigation Discovery. has previously investigated controversies on Glee and Quiet On Set probed things that happened at Nickelodeon in the ’90s and ’00s. Then, on May 27th, the network is looking into Fallen Idols Nick and Aaron Carter.
If that is not enough, today, ID announced that they will be airing the 2-hour doc Spacey Unmasked on May 13th at 9p.
Spacey Unmasked chronicles testimony from men in the US and the UK spanning nearly the entirety of Spacey’s career – from experiences by actors and employees during his tenure at the Old Vic Theater in London to accounts of behavior on the sets of his television and film projects. The documentary offers emotional insight into these experiences, featuring powerful interviews with men who previously have not gone on the record; ranging from an extra on the set of one of Spacey’s most popular television shows to several men, from young actors to ex-Marines, who encountered Spacey while trying to get their start in Hollywood.
Spacey Unmasked additionally features access to Randall Fowler, Spacey’s older brother, who offers insight into their tumultuous childhood.
The thing all of these documentaries have in common is that young people were involved in the alleged abuse.
When is someone going to a doc on how to protect our children? That should be the next logical step. You would think?
Investigation Discovery had a massive hit with Quiet on Set, a look into some of the dark things that happened on some of the Nickelodeon series. Now, they are moving on to a new topic.
On May 27th, they will go deep into Nick and Aaron Carter’s alleged controversies in a 4-part, 2-night event.
In 2017, Nick Carter was accused of sexual assault by singer and actress
Melissa Schuman, former member of a popular girl group Dream while Nick Carter and Backstreet Boys were at the height of their fame. In the years following Schuman’s decision to come forward, additional accusers, Ashley Repp and Shay Ruth, spoke out with similar accusations. During this period, Aaron Carter decided to support Nick’s accusers, while battling addiction and struggling with his own mental health, stoking a very public feud between the two brothers in the lead up to Aaron’s tragic death in 2022. FALLEN IDOLS: NICK AND AARON CARTER delves into the accusations against Nick and how those intertwined with the volatile relationship between the two brothers.
The special will have interviews with the three women who accused Nick of rape, his ex-girlfriend Kaya Jones, and Aaron’s fianceé at the time of his death, Melanie Martin.
I have known about this doc for a year because they asked someone I know to be in it. That person turned them down, so I am curious what they did with it and if they were right to turn this down.
The sad thing is that since they started this documentary, Nick lost another sibling allegedly to substance abuse.
On March 17th and March 18th, ID aired Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. It was a four-part documentary on the shows which were produced by Dan Schneider, like The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, iCarly, Zoey 101, Sam & Cat, and so many more.
The docuseries looked into claims of sexual, mental, and racial abuse on the set of the producer’s shows. But the most shocking reveal was that Drake Bell says that he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck when he was just 15 years old.
Since then, Schneider, Bell, other Nickelodeon actors and crew, and fans of the Nick shows have been talking about the shocking revelations.
Because of that, ID has greenlit a fifth episode, which will air on Sunday, April 7th.
“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.
Breaking the Silence will feature Drake Bell, All That’s Giovonnie Samuels, and Bryan Hearne, his mother Tracey Brown, and newcomer to the doc Shane Lyons will join the conversation hosted by Soledad O’Brien.
They will discuss the industry then, now, and how they can improve it in the future.
Quiet on Set has been viewed by 16 million people and counting on ID and Max and is Max’s most-viewed unscripted series.
When I saw the trailer for Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, I was curious. I had an ex-friend who starred in one of the shows mentioned, and she has told me stuff about some of the people who participated in the four-part documentary that premieres at 9p.
The first two episodes are almost all about Dan Schneider, who created The Amanda Show, What I Like About You, Zoey 101, iCarly, Drake and Josh, Sam and Cat, and a few other shows. Several cast members, a few parents, and crew members have claimed that he was abusive on the set and oversexualized some of his KIDS shows.
While that has gotten a lot of attention over the last few years, it is filler until they get to the shocking part of the documentary.
I am not excusing his behavior. It was wrong, But sadly, it is how the business was before the Me Too movement. And it happened all over the industry. It is just more upsetting because he was working with kids. And hopefully, it is no longer happening with other producers who work on children’s programming.
I want to add an update. After reading Amy Berg’s only statement and what he did to her emotionally and physically when she was his assistant, I am now looking at things differently.
Because I, too, had a job where it was so awful, I suffered both mentally and physically. However, we were told just to accept it because that was how things were. And I say it was because things have changed so much over the years. Thankfully.
More should have been done to scold Schneider, so that it was not happening on his sets. But, sadly, we were raised to keep quiet. Thus why this is called Quiet on Set.
Also, I hope that no more child actors are getting molested, like what Drake Bell says about what happened to him by Brian Peck in the two episodes that air tomorrow at 9p.
It has taken me days to want to write this review because it is hard to watch him tell his story.
As soon as I finished watching all four hours, I contacted my friend whose child worked on one of the shows that Peck worked on. I don’t know why I needed to talk to her so badly, but I did. And she confirmed some of what was part of the documentary. And thankfully, her child was not a victim of Peck’s.
So what happened? In short, Drake says that Peck got close to him—so close that he put a wedge between him and his father. His father knew there was something off with him and tried to get him fired from the show. But all the producers and network told him was that he was being prejudiced because Peck is gay.
Eventually, his dad was not allowed back on the show. And Bell’s mom, who lived in Orange County started letting her son stay at Peck’s house so that he would be closer to the set and auditions.
At first, it was innocent, and then it wasn’t. And to hear Bell tell it, it breaks your heart. There was no one there to protect him, and he was too young to know how to get himself out of it.
Eventually, Bell went to the cops, and Peck went on trial for the crime. Several people wrote letters defending Peck, including James Marsden, Alan Thicke, Joanne Kearns, and Taran Killam. This is the first time we have heard their names because they have never been uncovered before.
Peck did go to prison but was released after just 16 months. And believe it or not, he got a job on another kids’ show before he was fired once his crime was revealed. But still.
And it is even scarier that I am going to tell you that Peck was not the only one who was arrested for having improper relationships with children who were on the Nickelodeon shows.
As I was writing this review, I told my friend to watch this doc because her children are professional actors.
I think any parent should watch this show because it doesn’t happen only in Hollywood. But somehow, it seems more relatable when it happens to someone famous.
So, by Bell finally sharing his story, it might help someone else. And hopefully, the same thing won’t happen to them that happened to him.
And yes, he addresses the problems he has had as an adult, which are related to what happened to him as a teen.
I did not go into full detail about what happened because you need to see it. Also, I don’t want to relive what I saw. I usually rewatch something to review it, but this was something I couldn’t rewatch.
My heart goes out to Bell and the other kids who were affected by the alleged sexual predators who worked on these shows.
Don’t say how did they get on these shows and work with kids. It happens in schools all over the country all the time. So, again, I say it is more relatable because it is someone famous.
In the last part of the documentary, the former child stars talk about how working at such a young age affected them—and not for the better. They all had issues with self-esteem afterward. Not because of Schneider but because of the industry in general.
It is hard for people to learn about rejection at such a young age. I see it with my friend’s kids when they don’t get parts. I see how hard it is on my former child star friends who are trying to recapture the fame they had as teenagers but never as adults.
It is not easy, and this documentary shows that. But it also shows a really dark side of predators who were allowed to get so close to kids.
And again, it is not just Hollywood. I worked at three jobs where men were arrested for soliciting a minor. All the jobs were in television, but not entertainment, and two were out of state.
But that is not the point. The point is that you should watch this poignant documentary tonight and tomorrow at 9p on ID.
In August of 2003, Brian Peck was arrested for 11 charges of allegedly sexually abusing an unnamed child on a Nickelodeon show. Then, in May 2004, he pled no contest to those charges. And finally, in October, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and he had to register as a sex offender.
For 20 years, we didn’t know who that child actor was. But today, we found out. And it is Drake Bell.
Bell will be breaking his silence in the four-part documentary Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV on Investigation Discovery. For the first time, the star of Drake and Josh will be talking about the abuse he said he suffered on the set by Peck.
This is not the only story that will be coming out about the Nick shows we grew up with in the ’90s and ’00s. Other actors, their parents, and crew members from shows like All That, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, iCarly, Sam & Cat, and Victorious, will also be sharing stories of their experiences.
The doc will air on ID on March 17th and 18th, and it is definitely going to be an eye-opening two-night event.
