Dan Schneider

Daniel James Schneider (born January 14, 1966) is an American television producer, screenwriter, and actor. He created and produced a string of children's shows on Nickelodeon from 1994 to 2019. In the years since 2018, he has faced significant media coverage and controversy regarding allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Schneider started his career acting in minor roles in several teen comedy films of the 1980s such as '' Making the Grade'' (1984), '' Better Off Dead'' (1985), '' Hot Resort'' (1985), '' Happy Together'' (1989), and '' The Big Picture'' (1989). On television, he played Dennis Blunden on the ABC television sitcom ''Head of the Class'' (1986–1991). In 1993, he played Walter Peters in the ABC sitcom '' Home Free'' which ran for only one season. Schneider is the co-president of his production company Schneider's Bakery, which he founded in 1996.

He changed his career to working in children's television specifically for Nickelodeon. There, Schneider started as a writer and producer on the shows such as ''All That'' (1994–2005), and ''Kenan & Kel'' (1996–2000) before creating ''The Amanda Show'' (1999–2002). He gained fame for serving as the creator, executive producer and writer for numerous children's shows such as ''Drake & Josh'' (2004–2007), ''Zoey 101'' (2005–2008), ''iCarly'' (2007–2012), ''Victorious'' (2010–2013), ''Sam & Cat'' (2013–2014), and later ''Henry Danger'' (2014–2020), ''Game Shakers'' (2015–2019), and '' The Adventures of Kid Danger'' (2018). He also wrote and acted in the film ''Good Burger'' (1997) and wrote and co-produced the film ''Big Fat Liar'' (2002).

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, details of his alleged sexual misconduct and gender discrimination allegations towards Nickelodeon employees, many of them underage, were made public beginning in 2018. In response to the accusations, Nickelodeon ended their long-time partnership with Schneider. After a three-year hiatus, he discussed writing and selling a new pilot to a different network. The Investigation Discovery docuseries '' Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV'' (2024) detailed the numerous allegations against him of fostering a toxic workplace environment, which he has partly denied. Schneider filed a defamation lawsuit against the show's creators in May 2024.

Early life

Daniel James Schneider was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 14, 1966. In high school, Schneider was involved in theater and was senior class president. He found work repairing computers upon returning to Memphis, but soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Career

1984–1994: Career beginnings and acting roles

In the 1980s, Schneider appeared in minor roles in several films including the teen comedies '' Making the Grade'' (1984) starring Judd Nelson, and '' Better Off Dead'' (1985) with John Cusack. He also acted in comedy '' Hot Resort'' (1985), the romantic comedy '' Happy Together'' (1989) starring Patrick Dempsey, the comedy '' The Big Picture'' (1989) with Kevin Bacon and the drama '' Listen to Me'' (1989). In 1986, he played Dennis Blunden on the ABC television sitcom ''Head of the Class''. The series ran for five seasons from 1986 to 1991. In 1993, he starred in the series '' Home Free''.

Schneider co-hosted the 1988 Kids' Choice Awards, where he met Nickelodeon development executive Albie Hecht. In 1994, he played Shawn Eckardt in ''Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story'', one of two made-for-television films about the Tonya Harding–Nancy Kerrigan scandal. Schneider has made cameo appearances in TV series that he has helped to create and/or produce: ''All That'', and its subsequent film ''Good Burger'', ''Kenan & Kel'', ''The Amanda Show'', ''Zoey 101'', ''iCarly'', and ''Henry Danger''. Schneider also does voice-overs in many projects.

1993–2019: Nickelodeon showrunner

In 1993, Hecht, now head of production for the network, hired Schneider to work on a new sketch-comedy show for children called ''All That''. After writing the pilot episode, Schneider worked as producer, executive producer, and writer on the show. Schneider quit ''All That'' after the fourth season to run ''The Amanda Show'' (1999–2002) starring Amanda Bynes. The show's ratings soon declined, and it was cancelled in the 2000–2001 season. Schneider himself often appeared on ''The Amanda Show'' as a frustrated old man who was frequently the victim of strange prank phone calls. Nickelodeon then asked Schneider to come back and revamp ''All That'' in 2001. Schneider agreed, and ''All That'' returned to Nickelodeon in 2002. It ran for another four seasons until 2005, bringing ''All That'' to the end of its 10-season run.

From 1996 to 1997, Schneider was an executive producer and a writer for ''Kenan & Kel'' starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Schneider guest-starred in an episode and was an executive producer during the first two seasons. He continued working as a consultant for the remainder of the series. He wrote the 1997 film ''Good Burger'', starring Kenan and Kel and featuring Schneider himself in a supporting role. The film was spun off from a popular ''All That'' sketch produced by Schneider. While a modest commercial success it received negative reviews from critics with Roger Ebert of ''Chicago Sun-Times'' giving the film two stars out of four, writing "It didn't do much for me, but I am prepared to predict that its target audience will have a good time." In 1998, he began his career as a show creator with '' Guys Like Us'' for UPN. The series is one of only two series Schneider created that was produced for broadcast network television. The show was cancelled after its first season due to low ratings and poor reviews.

Schneider co-created '' What I Like About You'' with former ''Friends'' writer/producer Wil Calhoun. It premiered in 2002 on The WB and ran until 2006. Schneider was an executive producer during the show's first two seasons. He wrote and co-produced the comedy film ''Big Fat Liar'' (2002) starring Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, and Paul Giamatti which earned a total of $52.4 million at the worldwide box office. Schneider returned to Nickelodeon in 2004 with the show ''Drake & Josh''. The series starred Drake Bell and Josh Peck, who were actors on ''The Amanda Show'', and Miranda Cosgrove, who would later star in another of Schneider's shows, ''iCarly''. Overlapping both ''Drake & Josh'' and ''iCarly'', Schneider created the show ''Zoey 101'', which starred Jamie Lynn Spears. ''Zoey 101'' was Schneider's first and to date only single-camera format program and the first to be presented in a letterboxed format. Schneider guest-starred in the ''Zoey 101'' series finale "Chasing Zoey", playing a cab driver.

After the show was cancelled in 2008, Schneider began working on a new project for one of the actresses, Victoria Justice. That show, ''Victorious'', premiered in 2010 after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards. It starred Justice, Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Gillies, Leon Thomas III, Matt Bennett and Avan Jogia. A dual-show spin-off of both ''iCarly'' and ''Victorious'' called ''Sam & Cat'' premiered in 2013. It was cancelled after 36 episodes. On March 9, 2010, it was announced that Schneider himself would sign a deal with Nickelodeon. Following the cancellation of ''Sam & Cat'', Schneider co-created ''Henry Danger'' with Dana Olsen. The show premiered in 2014. The following year, Schneider created ''Game Shakers'', which reunited him with actor and Nickelodeon veteran Kel Mitchell. Schneider also served as executive producer.

On March 26, 2018, Nickelodeon announced that it would not be extending its production deal with Schneider and his company Schneider's Bakery. In addition, the network also announced that his comedy ''Game Shakers'' would not be renewed for a fourth season. His remaining Nickelodeon comedy ''Henry Danger'' would be receiving a fifth season and a new showrunner.

2020–present: Upcoming projects

After a three-year hiatus, Schneider announced that he had several new projects in development; ''The New York Times'' commented that he seemed "set on returning to television and reintroducing his brand of comedy to new audiences". In a June 2021 interview, he described an "ambitious and very different" television pilot that he had written and sold to a different network. Schneider said that this proposed show is aimed at more of an adult audience than his previous work.

Reception

Schneider has been described as "the Norman Lear of children's television" by ''The New York Times'', "the Aaron Sorkin of teen sitcoms" by ''Gawker'', and "the Willy Wonka of television" by ''Forbes''. ''Variety'' cited his "Jedi Master-like acumen for creating shows that appeal to kids in the awkward years of adolescence".

Misconduct allegations

''Deadline Hollywood'', the first to report about Nickelodeon parting ways with Schneider in March 2018, reported that there were complaints about Schneider's behavior. Nickelodeon did not respond to ''Deadline''s report and Schneider's representative refused to comment.

In June 2021, the ''New York Times'' reported that Nickelodeon's decision to sever ties with Schneider came after its parent company ViacomCBS completed an internal investigation that found evidence of Schneider verbally abusing his colleagues. Some of his colleagues told the newspaper that they found him to be difficult to work with and "prone to tantrums and angry emails". The investigation did not find evidence of sexual misconduct. When asked about the allegations, Schneider defended his work and said that if people found him to be hard to work with, it was because he maintained "high standards" as showrunner.

In August 2022, ''Insider'' reported several new allegations from former actors and employees, including accusations of gender discrimination and asking for "massages from adult female colleagues". A person "close to Schneider" said Schneider "regrets ever asking anyone or a massageand agrees it was not appropriate". Russell Hicks, a former executive at Nickelodeon, denied allegations of "sexualized" scenes in Schneider's shows and claimed that, "everyday on every set, were the parents and caregivers and their friends watching every single frame of footage and listening to every joke. Every single thing that Dan ever did on any of his shows was carefully scrutinized and approved".

The 2024 documentary miniseries '' Quiet on Set'' discussed Schneider's alleged toxic workplace behavior at Nickelodeon. He responded by apologizing for his treatment of colleagues, but denied other allegations regarding the sexualization of children in his past productions. Schneider received support from former Nickelodeon star Madisyn Shipman, who shared that she had "nothing but positive things to say" about Schneider based on her experience on set. In May 2024, Schneider filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Sony Pictures Television, and the series' directors, claiming the docuseries defamed him by falsely implying he sexually abused child actors he worked with. In a statement, Schneider acknowledged "mistakes and poor judgment" exhibited during his time at Nickelodeon, and expressed that reactions to the series left him "no choice but to take legal action against the people behind it."

Schneider has also been accused of behaving inappropriately with some of the young actresses who appeared in shows he developed. Alexa Nikolas, who appeared in ''Zoey 101'' for two seasons from 2004 to 2006, has said that, during her time on the show, she did "not feel safe" around Schneider, and that he had pressured her to wear revealing clothing and responded to her complaints about the way her costar Jamie Lynn Spears treated her by screaming at her. Lori Beth Denberg, who appeared in ''All That'' from 1994 to 1998, accused Schneider of touching her inappropriately, showing her pornography, and attempting to initiate phone sex with her when she was 19.

Personal life

Schneider met food blogger Lisa Lillien at Nickelodeon in the 1990s, and the two were married in 2002. They lived in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles until 2016, when they purchased a $9 million mansion from heiress Lori Milgard in Hidden Hills, California. After being overweight for much of his life, Schneider revealed in 2021 that he had lost over 100 lb (45 kg) since departing from Nickelodeon.

Filmography

Film

Television

Acting credits

Creator and producer roles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Dan
1966 births
Film producers from Tennessee
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
Television producers from Tennessee
American television writers
Living people
Male actors from Memphis, Tennessee
American male television writers
Songwriters from Tennessee
Nickelodeon people
Nickelodeon Animation Studio people
American showrunners
American television show creators
20th-century American screenwriters
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
21st-century American male writers
Obscenity controversies in television
Television controversies in the United States
Sexual harassment in the United States
Screenwriters from Tennessee
Writers from Memphis, Tennessee