20 years after filming Drake & Josh, Drake Bell and Josh Peck reunited on Josh’s podcast, Good Times, to discuss Drake’s documentary, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. In the harrowing doc, Drake opens up about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of their former dialogue coach, Brian Peck. Brian ultimately spent 16 months in prison and was mandated to register as a sex offender. Drake didn’t reveal that he was the victim until Quiet on Set.
During the podcast episode, both former Nickelodeon stars opened up about their complex relationship, and Drake shared his experience of navigating Drake & Josh with everything he was going through behind the scenes. Here are the biggest revelations from Drake Bell and Josh Peck’s conversation on the Good Times podcast.
Drake And Josh On Their Relationship During The Nickelodeon Days
Drake reflected on the friendship he and Josh shared when they filmed their show. “There were times when we hung out a lot and we were close, and there were times when we weren’t,” he said on the podcast. The Amanda Show alum explained that he and Josh would take out whatever they were going through on each other since they were always together. “We might not have been getting along, but we were dealing with a lot of shit outside of our relationship or us working together,” he added.
Drake On Shooting The Drake & Josh Pilot Before Brian Had Been Arrested
Drake explained that they shot the Drake & Josh pilot shortly before Brian was arrested. “We were in the middle of the investigation but nobody had known anything because Brian hadn’t been arrested,” he recalled. He shared that Brian came and visited when they shot the pilot, and he had to play it cool. Drake remembered, “I know that shit’s about to hit the fan and nobody here knows it.”
It was extremely difficult for Drake to return to Nickelodeon and film Drake & Josh after all the trauma he’d gone through shooting The Amanda Show. “Now I’m entering the Drake & Josh phase where we should be partners … Like, this is our time, let’s be in this together … But I came back to the same stage, the same parking lot, the same dressing rooms,” he said.
Josh On Watching Quiet On Set
Josh learned about Drake’s traumatic experience when the whole world did (when Quiet on Set came out), but he did sense that something was off when Brian wasn’t on set anymore. “I had a feeling ’cause Brian was ever-present during The Amanda Show… and then he was gone,” Josh said. “And I didn’t know anything except I had a feeling something happened. I remember, I said, ‘Do you still talk to Brian?’ and you just looked at me like: ‘No, Brian’s a really bad guy.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Gotcha.’”
He opened up about his experience watching the doc. “I didn’t know any of this at 14, and watching the documentary at 38 as a father, so much was revealed to me of what you had to go through,” Josh told Drake. “I can’t even imagine.” He noted that filming the show was a dark time time for him as well. “People would ask me about the show, and I would say, ‘Well, I lost 100 pounds and had to get sober at 21,’” Josh pointed out.
