Dan Schneider sues ‘Quiet on Set’ producers for defamation

HOLLYWOOD — Children’s television producer Dan Schneider filed a defamation lawsuit against the producers of “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, alleging the documentary falsely implied he abused children. 

The film’s “portrayal of Schneider is a hit job,” the lawsuit states.

Schneider’s lawyers filed the suit against Warner Brothers Discovery, Maxine Productions, Sony Pictures Television and the documentary’s producers in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Schneider created several popular children’s TV shows for Nickelodeon in the early 2000s, including “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” and “The Amanda Show.” 

A dialogue coach for some of the Nickelodeon shows Schneider created was convicted of sexually abusing a minor in 2004. 

In “Quiet on Set,” actor Drake Bell spoke for the first time about being sexually assaulted by the coach when he was 15 years old and working on “Drake & Josh.”

A production assistant was also a convicted sex offender who distributed sexually explicit material to an 11-year-old while working at Nickelodeon.

“While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and critically, was not a child abuser himself,” the lawsuit said.

The suit said false statements and implications in the documentary have destroyed Schneider’s reputation and legacy.

After debuting at No. 3 on Nielsen’s streaming rankings, “Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” was Max’s biggest streaming title ever, with 1.3 billion minutes watched between March 18 and 24 during the first week of the miniseries’ release.