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Dan Schneider accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 2014.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Former children’s television producer Dan Schneider says he has no problem censoring Nickelodeon cult classics he created in the 1990s and 2000s that may now offend viewers.
“All those jokes you’re talking about (Silence on set) covered over the last two nights, every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience, because kids thought they were funny, and only funny,” Schneider said of the lines he wrote for Nickelodeon shows like Amanda’s show, victorious and Zoey 101and who are now being criticized by offended fans on YouTube and social media platforms for allegedly sexualizing young actors.
His comments came as part of a March 19 apology video he posted following the two-night Investigation Discovery documentary series. Silence on the set: The dark side of children’s television, which investigated toxic environmental claims on sets directed by Schneider. The former Nickelodeon producer created hit shows for the network such as All that, Drake and Josh, iCarly and Sam and cat, and helped launch the careers of people like Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, Victoria Justice, Miranda Cosgrove and Jennette McCurdy.
In a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, says a rep for Schneider: “Dan never intended any of those jokes that are now considered sexualized content to be anything more than funny to kids. Children don’t see things the same way adults do. The jokes were funny to the kids, and only funny. But now, 20 or 25 years later, adults see some of those jokes and look at them through adult lenses and that makes some people uncomfortable. So Dan thinks those jokes should be cut from reruns.”
Representatives for Nickelodeon, which split from Schneider and his production company Schneider’s Bakery in 2018, declined to comment. The Hollywood Reporter when asked about his call to remove any offensive jokes from classic series.
But after making the public call in the apology video, Schneider has not contacted Nickelodeon or other Paramount platforms that offer classic Nickelodeon series for viewing. THR Has confirmed. (Paramount Global owns CBS, Paramount+, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon and other media brands.)
Silence on set highlighted how Schneider’s scripts allegedly sexualized Ariana Grande, Bynes and Jamie Lynn Spears, among others, when they were child actors. And those claims have long been part of clips and compilations on YouTube and social media platforms that denounce Schneider as the creator and showrunner of those series.
THR He contacted Schneider representatives to see which Nickelodeon episodes require edits. A representative for the former Nickelodeon producer cited two episodes of Victorious: “Ice cream for Ke$Ha”, the third episode of the second season; and “Helen Back Again,” the seventh episode of the second season.
A look online indicates the second season of Victorious can be streamed on Pluto TV and can be viewed with a subscription on Netflix, Paramount+, and Roku, or purchased for download on Vudu, Prime Video, and Apple TV+. THR has approached those digital platforms in the Victorious The episodes were made available amidst criticism and received no response.
Networks routinely air reruns of classic shows, whether dramas or comedies, when they discover a new audience among young viewers or discover they may get stuck on streaming platforms. And many of the offensive episodes discussed in the ID docuseries have resurfaced, as compilations and clips are shared on YouTube and in various X-threads following the docuseries’ release.
Schneider’s representatives also drew attention to the tenth episode of the first season of Zoey 101, titled “Backpack,” which first aired in April 2005. That Zoey 101 The episode remains on Paramount platforms. THR Has confirmed.
Alexa Nikolas, who co-starred with Jamie Lynn Spears in Zoey 101, also talked about costume choices that she said were carefully selected by Schneider, which included miniskirts that were “so short” that costume designers had to give her biker shorts to wear underneath. However, the biker shorts were too long and peeked out from under the skimpy skirts, so she had to cut them off. “Dan wants these skirts; He is the one who chooses them and has all the creative control. It’s pretty scary looking back on that experience,” she said. THR. (A Schneider representative did not respond to THRrequest for comment.)
Some of the Nickelodeon clips in question are also available through The Slap website. But it is not clear who owns the website and who has the right to display its content. The Slap as a website was shut down in 2018, at the same time Nickelodeon cut ties with Schneider and his production company.
Nickelodeon sources allege that Schneider attempted to circumvent the network’s standards department by posting content whose scripts had not been shown to the network for approval on The Slap. “He would just make them on set or on days off with the actors and show them off, and we would find out about them after the fact. And here they are, living in infamy,” said a source. THR.
A rep for Schneider said The Slap was a web extension of the Nickelodeon series. “They would put additional content on that site and it would go through the same approval chain. It wasn’t a Dan website. It was literally part of the show,” a representative said. THR.
Previously, a spokesperson for Schneider had said in a statement: “Everything that happened on the shows Dan directed was carefully vetted by dozens of adults involved and approved by the network. “If there had been scenes or outfits that were inappropriate in any way, they would have been flagged and blocked by this multi-layered scrutiny.”
Nickelodeon’s former president of content, Russell Hicks, had added in a separate statement to THR: “There is a standards and practices group that reads every script and programming executives who watch every episode. Plus, every day, on every set, parents, caregivers, and their friends watched every frame of the footage and heard every joke. “Everything Dan did on any of his shows was carefully vetted and approved by Nickelodeon executives.”
