Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV

This is a story that needs to be told. 5 minutes into the first episode and I was already sick to my stomach. I can't even imagine what else was happening behind closed doors seeing what was even allowed to air.

Really engrossing documentary so far and its utterly shocking seeing everything that was allowed and pushed under the rug simply due to the fact that the shows were getting viewers and making money.

I genuinely feel sick I cannot stress it enough, just be advised before you watch. The conditions these literal children were put in at the hands of a disgusting pervert and writers, coaches that allowed it to happen will trigger you. Nervous to even finish the last two parts.

I just watched the first 2 episodes of the show, and it was a solid start for a Discovery documentary. I definitely learned a lot of new things about the controversy surrounding Dan Shneider and the people he let into his inner circle.

The first episode sets up how Dan became a success, and how he came to weild his power negatively over anyone except cis white men. I certainly have a lot more empathy for Amanda Bynes and the person she is today. The second episode dove deeper into the ways Dan and his on-set friends integrated sex into the children's shows in very non-sublte ways. Unfortunately, we are left on a cliff-hanger, as expected. However, even though we are introduced to the actor who was abused, I still can't wait for the next episode to drop so that we can hear them tell their truth.

I give it an 8, I even rewound the show as a spit take on some of things the grown child actors had to say about their experiences. After watching it, you won't think of pickles the same way.

Episodes 1,2 & 4 were essentially a bunch of people complaining that Dan Schneider was a bad boss. I'm sure it's very probable that he was, and there were many cringeworthy things that he did. This sort of thing goes on in all types workplaces and it would be great if something would be done about it. It's presented in a way, however, that what went on was exceptional - this is what bugged me. We have all heard stories about the rampant abuse in Hollywood. I was expecting some sort of exposé of this. It's almost as if this documentary was thrown out there to cover up what really goes on in Hollywood - ie 'outside of Harvey Weinstein, this is the worst we have uncovered'

The standout episode was episode 3. It was truly heartbreaking. Drake Bell was very brave to sit in front of the camera and talk about what happened to him. This is what someone telling the truth looks like. Watching his father crying over not being able to protect his son brought me to tears. I'm sure this type of thing has gone on in Hollywood for many decades, which is moreso what I was anticipating this documentary to uncover.

I rate Quiet on Set overall as a 7 - for episode 3 alone (which deserves a 10)

First off, I wanna say OMG BRO. This was a lot to take in!! Like almost to much. It made my stomach sick at moments of each episode to know that there wasn't enough parental supervision and guidance for all these children. What the hell is wrong with this world? Who would've known what Drake Bell went thru.. It truly blows my mind. I feel like Jennette Mccurdy should have been in this Documentary as well, but that girl spoke up enough from her book. Cutting Ties with Dan Schneider was definitely the best bet. What Alexa Nikolas had mentioned though, IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED ALONG TIME AGO. Yes. I give this 9/10. My heart goes out to all those child stars who faced horrible events as a kid.

I feel as tho the producers of the show were trying very hard to cast Dan Schneider as this really bad guy in the first 2 episodes, but were short on actual evidence of it. Was he a saint? No, and he absolutely did some very weird and inappropriate things on set, but nothing that I saw in this doc made my jaw drop, especially when it pertains to Hollywood. Again, There is no excusing the behavior, but when you consider the environment back then and the fact that Dan is regretful for his actions at the time, I think it was a bit over the top. Some of the gags that they were calling sexual were a bit of a stretch to. Getting squirt in the face, comparing pickles to male genitalia? Not everything is secretly nefarious in nature. And no sexually deviant evidence is ever brought up that would suggest Dan Schneider was sexually abusing kids on the set. Certainly there were things that were over the top and repugnant in the writers room, like the example of the lady being coerced into acting like she was being sodimized as part of a gag in the writers room in order to get laughs. That made me cringe for sure and there is no excusing that behavior. Former actors and actresses that they brought on gave some decent insight and I can sympathize with them to an extent, but I also felt some where jilted about not having as much success as they would have liked in a cutthroat business where few make it to stardom. I definitely felt for them, because when you are that young you are obviously going to be naive and believe fame and fortune are heading your way, but not everyone can be center stage unfortunately. Thats just the business and I feel as tho their parents or guardians weren't relaying that to them at the time which is unfortunate. Learning about the sexual predators on set was by far the most gut wrenching aspect of this documentary, and they did do a great job of pointing that out and letting Drake Bell tell his story. It was also revolting to learn that the man who abused him was set free quickly and was very briefly allowed to be back on a children's tv show. Truly disturbing.

Overall, it's a decent documentary that could have been better if they just would have stuck to the facts and not tried to make Dan into this nefarious villain who traumatized the children he worked with. Again, there were definitely some bad things he did, but the constant portrayal of him being a bully tyrant who couldn't care less about the kids actually made me sympathetic toward him a little in the end. If they would have stuck with the facts and hard evidence on hand it would have made for a better documentary j my opinion.