Despite sharing disturbing allegations about suffering abuse at the hands of a dialogue coach as a teenager on Nickelodeon, as seen in the documentary series Quiet On Set, Drake Bell said he’s open to being cast in a Drake & Josh reboot.
The actor, now 38, revealed that he and his former on-screen brother have in fact “talked about” a potential sequel to their former hit teen sitcom, only this time it would follow a buddy comedy format set 20 years after the original.
“I would love to. We’ve talked about it,” Bell said. The Patriot-News. “But I also didn’t want to do it when everyone else was doing reboots. It was like, ‘Okay, sure, let’s do a reboot because everyone else is doing reboots.'”
He added: “If we’re going to do something, it should be something more special. Let’s give them a big hit instead of saying, ‘Oh, another reboot.'”
Bell went on to suggest one of the ideas he and Peck discussed together, where they play different versions of the old Jake and Josh characters.
Drake Bell, 37, revealed that he and former co-star Josh Peck “have talked about” rebooting their old teen sitcom Drake & Josh, but this time in a buddy comedy format that takes place 20 years after the original.
“I don’t think we’d want to play the characters on the show, or[our sister]Meg[Miranda Cosgrove],” he said, before elaborating. “I think, luckily for us, they’re our names, so we can still play Drake and Josh. But I think it would be more fun if we just went off and did other buddy comedies, you know. Something that’s kind of a surprise, a little bit different. It would be more interesting.”
In the original, created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon, Bell and Peck played an odd pair of stepbrothers, Drake Parker (Bell) and Josh Nichols (Peck), during the show’s four-season run on the network from 2004 to 2007.
Drake & Josh was a ratings hit, garnering 3.2 million viewers for its premiere episode, which seems to set the tone for the show to consistently rank among the most-watched series in its demographic.
Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein played Drake’s mother and Josh’s father, respectively, while Miranda Cosgrove played Drake’s evil younger sister.
A television special, Really Big Shrimp, served as the series finale in September 2007, marking 56 episodes over the show’s four seasons.
After the finale, the network ended up airing a one-off special: Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh in 2008.
Along with Bell, Peck and the rest of the main cast, there was also a cast of recurring roles including Yvette Nicole Brown, Jerry Trainor, Allison Scagliotti, Alec Medlock, Scott Halberstadt, Jake Farrow, Julia Duffy, Roark Critchlow, Cathy Shim and Johnny Lewis.
Bell detailed the abuse she suffered in Quiet On Set, a five-part documentary that details some of the toxic behind-the-scenes world of children’s television shows from the 1990s to the 2000s.
In the third episode, Bell reveals that he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
The actor and musician says he received a lot of support after the revelations he made in the documentary Quiet On Set
Speech coach Brian Peck eventually pleaded guilty to abuse charges and was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Currently, Bell is primarily focused on his music and his current tour promoting his fifth album Non-Stop Flight.
After playing his final show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the singer and guitarist took to his Instagram page and wrote, “Thank you so much.”
His next show is scheduled at The Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan on Sunday, August 18.
“I would love to. We’ve talked about it,” Bell told The Patriot-News. “But I also didn’t want to do it when everyone was doing resets. It’s like, ‘OK, sure, let’s do a reset because everyone’s doing resets.'”
The two child stars played oddball step-siblings during the four-season series, which also starred Miranda Cosgrove, Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein.
Bell accused dialogue coach Brian Peck of sexual abuse, for which he pleaded guilty and served 16 months in prison, as well as having to register as a sex offender; the two actors reprised their roles in the one-shot special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, alongside Henry Winkler.
Currently, Bell is primarily focused on her music and her ongoing tour in support of her fifth album Non-Stop Flight (2024).
Peck was arrested and charged in 2003 with child sexual abuse, but the victim’s name had been sealed.
The television employee was ultimately sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Following the premiere, Bell revealed that the support she has received from fans “has been incredible.”
“There’s been a ton of support. And when you get into something like that, you get really nervous. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. You don’t know how people are going to react, or what’s going to happen, or what the consequences are going to be,” the Newport Beach, California, native shared. “People are reaching out and sharing their stories. And it’s been really nice.”
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