Many elements have gone into Nickelodeon's major success over the years, and a lot of its live-action goodwill falls on the shoulders of longtime producer Dan Schneider, whose career with the network began back in 1993, on the soon-to-be wildly popular sketch series All That. 25 years later, after he'd co-creating such hits as iCarly, Henry Danger and Victorious (among others), Nickelodeon execs made the decision to formally cut ties with Schneider and his production company Schneider's Bakery. While the split itself seemed amiable enough, this situation was reportedly fueled by behind-the-scenes allegations, questionable behavior, and creative differences.
This is definitely huge news within the industry, as Dan Schneider is one of the biggest names in modern children's television, having capitalized on All That's success to develop Kenan & Kel and The Amanda Show in the 1990s. And after also creating non-Nickelodeon shows like What I Like About You (also with Amanda Bynes) and Guys Like Us, Schneider then hit upon a string of live-action winners with Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, Sam & Cat, and two of the network's current hits, Henry Danger and Game Shakers, with an animated series The Adventures of Kid Danger planned for release this year. But all that past success can't guarantee the future, and some of Dan Schneider's alleged off-camera behavior is getting put in the spotlight.
For one, stories of Dan Schneider's anger issues have been rumored for years, and they apparently came up again when Nickelodeon recently decided to end Game Shakers after three seasons. According to Deadline, Schneider wasn't happy with how that went down, as Game Shakers was ending its third season on a finale cliffhanger that was set to go into production at the time the cancellation was announced. Schneider was also reportedly unhappy about Nickelodeon's decision to produce a new TV series in the same production space normally used for Schneider's shows, even though his Henry Danger was on hiatus and not needing the space. And those issues are coupled with more general complaints about Schneider's shows allegedly stretching out long production days and going over budget.
As well, there are more disturbing rumors out there concerning how Dan Schneider has treated the younger stars he's worked with over the years. Schneider's own social media feeds have contained questionable images of teen female actresses' toes, and some Nickelodeon viewers have complained that Schneider's Nickelodeon shows include a lot of references to characters' feet, not to mention a lot of other highly suggestive material that isn't normally found in children's shows. Stories like this usually see many more details coming to light in the weeks after they go public, so it'll be interesting to see if anything else emerges.
While it won't have any new Dan Schneider shows to keep busy with, Nickelodeon is currently in the development stages for a Clarissa Explains It All reboot, a Blues Clues reboot, and movies based on past hits like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Dora the Explorer. Hopefully the network doesn't find any other skeletons when looking back into its past for all these new projects.
Nickelodeon does plan on bringing Henry Danger back for Season 5, without Dan Schneider involved, so stay tuned for more info on that release. And while waiting, head to our midseason premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows on the way.
