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Following its four-part premiere, many have been wondering why Amanda Bynes wasn’t in Quiet on Set. The new docuseries, which details the alleged abuse of staff and child actors by Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider, focuses heavily on the actress and her eponymous series, The Amanda Show, in one of its episodes. However, despite being one of the project’s focal points, Bynes reportedly decided not to participate in the series’ investigation for a surprising reason.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV premiered on March 17, 2024. The documentary series—which continues with a follow-up episode, Breaking the Silence, airing on April 7, 2024—chronicles allegations of a toxic workplace by Schneider. In addition to allegations involving Schneider, the series includes bombshell claims made by former Nickelodeon actor Drake Bell, who alleged that he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck between production of the final season of The Amanda Show and the first season of Drake & Josh. (Peck was eventually arrested in 2003 on 11 counts of lewd conduct with a minor, and later sentenced to 16 months in prison as a registered sex offender.)
During his time on Nickelodeon, Bell co-starred with Amanda Bynes on her series, The Amanda Show. Running for three seasons from 1999 to 2002, the show played a pivotal role in propelling Bynes’ career forward, ultimately leading her to star in successful films like What a Girl Wants and She’s the Man, as well as her own sitcom, What I Like About You.
In the years since, Bynes has shared little about her time on Nickelodeon, but many viewers were still surprised to learn that the actress wasn’t included in the Quiet on Set documentary. According to a new report, however, Bynes was the one who chose not to participate in the docuseries. For everything we know about why Amanda Bynes wasn’t included in the Quiet on Set docuseries, keep on reading below.
Why wasn’t Amanda Bynes in the Quiet on Set documentary?
Image: Nickelodeon Network/Everett Collection.
While her show was covered in detail in the docuseries, Amanda Bynes made the personal decision not to sit for any interviews for Quiet on Set. According to TMZ, the actress reportedly didn’t share the same experience as her co-stars during her time on Nickelodeon, so she didn’t feel it was relevant to participate herself. The publication even reports that Bynes is “grateful for what she was able to do with her Nickelodeon start” and still acknowledges that the network helped to launch her career.
While TMZ’s report suggests Bynes didn’t experience the same abuse as her former co-stars, one of her castmates from The Amanda Show painted a different picture of her experience as a young actress working on the series. “I’ve been in deep pain the past few days watching the documentary,” Raquel Lee, who starred in the first season of The Amanda Show, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post responding to the Quiet on Set premiere. “To know that I am not alone in some of the things I experienced as a child actor, but to also hear the types of environments I was in as a kid without even knowing, just sickens my stomach. I know that everything happens for a reason and we all deserve to heal from our trauma, but this is so hard to take in.”
“I struggled to be apart of this documentary because although this industry has caused me a lot of pain, there was still something in me that felt I shouldn’t say anything that I went through because ‘what if people don’t want to work with me anymore’ but then I realized, I’ve been fighting to be seen and heard for sooooo long in this industry,” she continued. “I’ve paid my dues, I’ve put in the work, and now I can be ok walking away with my head held high. What’s most important is that we all begin our healing, now that we have more clarity and truth.”
