As anyone with a Paramount+ subscription can see, the dark and dour docuseries Quiet on Set has remained a Top 10 performer for the streaming service ever since its debut in mid-March, with a lot of the press surrounding the series (both positive and negative) helping fuel its popularity. The project’s pair of creators and directors, Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, weren’t on-screen subjects themselves, but have spent much of that post-release window talking about why they went all-in on the exposé, with a particular Amanda Show character serving as a catalyst.
For years, videos spread around the internet that compiled potentially problematic visual gags from various Nickelodeon hits, from iCarly to Zoey 101, and those videos were part of the inspiration for Robertson and Schwartz bringing their investigative skills to the situation. Another key factor had nothing to do with teen actresses being splashed with goo, but rather a bit of naughty nomenclature involving Amanda Show character Penelope Taynt. Here’s what Schwartz told Deadline for the outlet’s Contenders TV: Documentary + Unscripted panel, when addressing the idea that jokes were added into shows that kids weren’t necessarily supposed to understand, even if they were still laughing.
I think perhaps the example that is most striking to me is the example of just the character Penelope Taynt, which was a character that was created for The Amanda Show. Dan Schneider created this character, and he wanted it to be named with a last name that was a vulgar word for a body part, and specifically told the writers, ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ When someone from standards came and [questioned it], he said no, and just flat-out denied it. That was an example of both the power that was held but also the way in which [standards] felt there was clear intention behind the sexualization of children on the programming on these sets.
The Amanda Show fans will no doubt recall titular star Amanda Bynes playing a character rocking a brunette wig, glasses, and a buttoned-up vest, complete with an affinity for technology and saying the word “please” a lot. The unpredictable teen was also known for popping up and surprisingly ruining other characters’ sketches, in a way not completely dissimilar from her surname popping up and making parents uncomfortable when having to explain to their kids what it is. (Probably not as big a hassle in these Internet-ready days, but still.)
Anyone who doesn’t know what a “taint” is…well, t’aint gonna be me that unlocks that particular drawer in Pandora’s Box for anyone.
In and of itself, naming a character after one’s naughty bits isn’t a full-on damning offense, and doesn’t automatically indicate that larger issues are happening behind the scenes. But in the case of Dan Schneider’s world of children’s television, that was par for the course, and it was Bynes’ co-star Drake Bell who came out and revealed himself to be the unidentified sexual assault victim whose testimony got frequent Schneider cohort Brian Peck convicted as a sex offender.
But while Bell did take part in interviews for Quiet on Set, Amanda Bynes chose not to appear. (The former did share praise for Bynes after the fact.) She’d been in the middle of her own worrisome spiral that culminated in her being hospitalized after she was spotted nude while walking the streets of downtown Los Angeles in March 2023. Fans have theorized that her years at Nickelodeon were partially to blame for issues in later years, but she has yet to address it all directly.
While there may not be a way to retcon everyone’s memories so that Amanda Bynes’ brainy klutz is just called Penelope, without the PG-13 insinuation attached, we can just pretend that she never had a last name, Madonna-style. And we can also try to pretend that The Amanda Show’s jacuzzi moments didn’t exist.
Investigation Discovery’s next pop culture-infused project will put its focus on pop music standouts Nick and Aaron Carter, their respective personal issues, and their troubled relationship in the years prior to the younger sibling’s death at 34. Until then, Quiet on Set can be streamed in full on Paramount+, along with the bulk of Nickelodeon’s live-action fare.
