Eighteen years after Drake & Josh ended, the iconic Nickelodeon duo, Drake Bell and Josh Peck, finally reunite on an episode of Peck’s podcast, Good Guys.
The former co-stars thrill fans as they bravely discuss everything viewers want to know—from their fallout to the 2024 documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which exposed troubling details about abuse and misconduct behind the scenes of the beloved teen sitcom.
From reflecting on their friendship to the impact of Bell’s traumatic experiences, nothing was off-limits in their first public conversation in decades.
The Beginning of Their Friendship
Bell and Peck first shared their love for classic comedy on The Amanda Show in 2000 before they showed their incredible rapport on Drake & Josh in 2004.
Becoming a cultural phenomenon, the show ran for four seasons until 2007, and everyone loved their portrayal of stepbrothers with contrasting personalities.
Though Peck admitted they did not get along at first, they suddenly became inseparable, often hung out together, and stayed at each other’s places.
However, despite their great bond and chemistry on screen, Bell admitted they were not always on great terms.
“There were times where it was like, we might not have been getting along,” he said. “But I think we were dealing with a lot of s-- outside of our relationship or outside of us working together.”
Three years after the show began, Bell and Peck’s friendship started to fizzle as they did other projects separately.
Reflecting on the evolution of their friendship, Peck revealed he had his own “perspective.”
“Especially because we were going through this, like, during our adolescence and when we were changing and learning. It's going to be interesting to see what my perspective was and what your perspective was and if they align at all,” he continued.
“I would say there were times when we hung out a lot and we were close and then there were times when — not for any reason — but just we weren't.”
Things even turned for the worse when Bell was not invited to Peck’s wedding to Paige O’Brien in 2017.
But after years of estrangement, Peck showed his support to Bell when he revealed he was a victim of dialogue coach Brian Peck’s (not related to Josh) abuse in Investigation Discovery’s four-part docuseries Quiet on Set by releasing a public statement.
“I finished the Quiet On Set documentary and took a few days to process it. I reached out to Drake privately, but wanted to give my support for the survivors who were brave enough to share their stories of emotional and physical abuse on Nickelodeon sets with the world. Children should be protected. Reliving this publicly is incredibly difficult, but I hope it can bring healing for the victims and their families as well as necessary change to our industry.”
The Impact of Abuse on Their Friendship
Bell’s decision to keep his trauma private took a toll on his friendship with Peck, fearing sharing his experiences would jeopardize their show and dreams.
“Is this going to hurt our show? Are we going to lose our dreams?” he questioned.
The experience was so overwhelming for Bell that he started losing his hair.
“I had these giant scabs on my head. I had no idea why and there were like golf ball-sized scabs where I'm losing my hair,” he added. “Then I got to go back and shoot the show.”
Unaware of Bell’s struggles, Peck admitted that he thought his co-star was already losing interest in their friendship.
“Until you shared with me what was happening, I was viewing it through the lens of a 14-year-old, thinking 'He doesn't want to be friends with me,'” he revealed.
Hence, when he saw Quiet on Set, Peck finally understood Bell’s past and how things that happened back then affected both their friendship and Bell’s mental health.
Revelations from Quiet on Set
Drake & Josh became a ratings success and consistently ranked as one of the most-watched series in its demographic during its run.
However, behind the scenes, nobody knew the nightmare Bell was experiencing.
“That big break between Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show is when I told my mom what was going on. We went to the police, there was the investigation and all the stuff that you saw in the documentary. That was when all of that was going on,” he recalled.
In fact, when they filmed the pilot, an investigation was already underway, but no one knew because Brian had not been arrested yet.
As a result, he had to return from The Amanda Show, where Brian worked and the abuse was taking place.
Although Peck had no knowledge of what was happening, he had 'a feeling' that something had occurred when Brian was no longer present on set.
He even recalled the time when he asked Bell if he was still talking to Brian.
“You just looked at me like, 'No, Brian's a really bad guy,” he remembered. “And I remember thinking, 'That is all that I needed to know. I didn't know anything more than that but I was like, 'That's clear. I get it.'”
Quiet on Set marked the first time Bell publicly addressed his abuse by Brian, pleaded no contest to charges of oral copulation with a minor and performing lewd acts with a young teen in 2004.
He served a 16-month prison sentence and was required to register as a sex offender.
Despite what happened, Bell asked fans not to avoid rewatching Drake & Josh due to the revelations on Quiet on Set.
In addition to being “very proud” of what they did, he also expressed hope of revisiting their iconic characters. Who knows? This could be the beginning of a Drake & Josh revival.