Growing up in a new and technological generation promotes the drive to create media that will interest not only children, but also adults. Platforms such as Disney and Nickelodeon offered newfound fame to child stars in order to entertain those at home, but at what cost?
As this generation grows, and child actors become adults, the horrors of these shows we indulged in as kids are unleashed. Nickelodeon, a platform whose engagement skyrocketed and was upkept from 1990 to 2010 produced new and differing content from other competing forms of media. This content boomed and children found the diverse and strange material to be entrancing.
Memorable shows such as “Drake and Josh”, “iCarly” and “Victorious” reach tens of millions of views, making them the forefront of television for many children and young adults. However, what hides behind these actors’ shows and newfound fame? Producer Dan Schiender acted as the mastermind behind these hit shows, bringing a new form of comedy into people’s households. The outcomes of these child actors later on, display the tragedies that unfolded behind the scenes
Amanda Bynes, most commonly known from “The Amanda Show” and “All That” is a prime example of what males in media can do to innocent and talented individuals. Dan Schiender sought out Bynes at a comedy show when she was just 10 years old. Automatically, Schiender saw his new prospect that he knew would drive to an uprising in his career. The question is, who is behind the scenes protecting these children? Is the media so important that making money means hiding coverage of the exploitation of these actors?
Bynes rapidly declined after her retirement from acting in 2010. When looking back at videos of her as a child, her discomfort towards Dan Schinder is far more apparent alongside his inappropriate behaviors. Did the media conceal these perspectives in order to protect the revenue of the company or was the audience too young to understand the abuse occurring?
In 2024 a documentary titled, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” dove into the perverted and despicable behaviors that Schiender subjected these children to. Common themes emerged such as his fascination and incorporation of feet in most of his projects. Now looking back, many viewers notice the amount of perverted situations these children were placed in. Many of the female children had elongated objects pointing towards their mouths, or certain liquids spraying in their faces. Schnieder used his morally corrupt fantasies to destroy the childhoods of these actors.
The long-term effects of Schnieder’s work can be best seen with Amanda Bynes. Bynes entirely lost herself by the lack of protection that the media and Schnieder gave her. These deliberate consequences did not impact Schnieder but rather evoked damage control from his team in order to protect his image. He and his team expressed how these skits and jokes were built for a different era, the narrative shifted from him being a pedophile to only apologizing for being rude and difficult on set. His team and himself pose no accountability to the multitude of children affected from his work.
Stories have emerged from each show that Schnieder was a part of. “Drake and Josh” spoke a sexual assault that happened on set, Jamie Lynn Spears walked away from “Zoey 101” with a preganacy and many more children were deeply traumatized. When will those behind the scenes stop protecting their jobs and senior executives’ reputation for the benefit and protection of these children and their futures. Fame seems glorious as a child, but when placed in the wrong hands, lives will be negatively altered forever.
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