Quiet on Set confirms bonus fifth episode with new Drake Bell interview

Drake Bell came forward with allegations against Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck in the docuseries

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV will return for a fifth episode, confirming fan rumours.

After the documentary series aired its fourth and final episode on 22 March, viewers speculated about a bonus episode after they saw listings on Google and Rotten Tomatoes.

On Tuesday (26 March), TV network ID confirmed that an additional episode titled “Breaking the Silence” will launch on 7 April.

According to Variety, ID said in a statement: “Participants previously featured in Quiet on Set, including Drake Bell, All That cast members Giovonnie Samuels and Bryan Hearne, Hearne’s mother, Tracey Brown, as well as new voices including former All That cast member Shane Lyons, will come together with Soledad O’Brien for an important discussion about the industry, then and now.”

Episode five will be “building off the revelations explored in the first four episodes” and include a conversation led by O’Brien on “where the industry can go from here”.

The series sees former show writers and child actors, including Drake & Josh star Bell, describe a toxic underbelly of abuse, harassment, racism and sexism on the sets of the Nickelodeon shows led by TV exec Dan Schneider.

Drake Bell on 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV’ (Investigation Discovery)

In the show, Bell alleges that at the age of 15, he was a victim of abuse at the hands of Brian Peck, who worked as a dialogue coach on Nickelodeon’s All That and The Amanda Show.

In August 2003, Peck was arrested on more than a dozen charges related to sexual abuse allegations involving an unnamed minor.

In May 2004, Peck pleaded no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a minor under 16. Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender in October 2004.

Following the release of the docuseries, Nickelodeon said in a statement: “Now that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward.”

Speaking recently on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast, Bell expressed his disappointment in Nickelodeon’s response.

“I find it pretty empty, their responses, because, I mean, they still show our shows, they still put our shows on,” he said, “And I have to pay for my own therapy.”

Schneider, who parted ways with the channel in 2018, posted an interview on his YouTube channel where he discussed the allegations featured in the documentary. He said watching the documentary was “very difficult” as he faced his “past behaviours – some of which are embarrassing and that I regret”.

“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.

Quiet on Set was directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz and produced by Maxine Productions, a part of Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction, in association with Business Insider.

The first four episodes of Quiet on Set are streaming on Max in the US and on Discovery+ in the UK.

If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331