The first shoe has dropped

The first shoe has dropped in the long long time coming war against the former producer of children’s shows.

Dan Schneider

Dan Schneider Once Reigned Over Children’s TV. What Happened?

Nickelodeon’s longtime hitmaker separated from the company in 2018 and has been trailed by questions about his abrupt departure. Now he is talking about making a return to television.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It was the biggest night of the year for children’s entertainment, and some of Nickelodeon’s top stars from across generations had gathered to honor Dan Schneider, the man who made them famous.

“You not only changed all of our lives — you changed kids’ TV,” said Victoria Justice, the star of “Victorious,” as Schneider prepared to accept Nickelodeon’s first and only Lifetime Achievement Award.

Schneider was at the peak of his powers as he took the stage at that 2014 Kids’ Choice Awards, surrounded by a throng of teenage stars. He had enjoyed an unparalleled run as a Nickelodeon writer and showrunner, helping define the network for two decades with hits like “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” “Drake & Josh,” “Zoey 101,” “Victorious,” and, perhaps his most iconic show, “iCarly.”

But a mere four years later, the man The New York Times once crowned “the Norman Lear of children’s television” was out at the network. In the spring of 2018, he and Nickelodeon sent a joint statement announcing their separation. Almost overnight, Schneider largely disappeared from public view and returned home with the $7 million still owed on his contract.

Online denizens posted compilations that stitched together scenes from Schneider’s shows, videos he has taken on set and pictures of him with child actors, to raise questions about his behavior with the young people he worked with. Shots in the shows of bare feet were presented as evidence of a fetish. Other scenes were dissected and discussed as scripted moments of wink-wink sexual innuendo, acted out by a teenage cast.

Schneider said he was well aware of the postings, which he described as “ridiculous.” He said it was sad that social media companies can freely push forward “any lie.” Kids find feet goofy and funny, he said, and there was no effort to sexualize his young stars.

“The comedy,” he said, “was totally innocent.”

But the internet noise had garnered the attention of Schneider’s bosses by 2018, when the #MeToo movement had arrived. – Read more here