Directors Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz Discuss How ‘Quiet on Set’ Has Ignited a Federal Legislation Push

Awards Daily talks to Quiet on Set filmmakers Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz about getting participants to share their stories for the Investigation Discovery docuseries.

One of the most talked-about docuseries of the year is Investigation Discovery’s Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. Filmmakers Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz took great care into bringing this project to life and knew that it could be a watershed moment for the industry.

“When you work on a project like this, you enter into a covenant with the participants,” said Robertson, executive producer and director. “‘Come with me on this journey. Take the leap.’ We knew that the moment was right, and there was potential to engage a larger audience and with that comes the potential for real cultural shifts. You can never guarantee that. It is so gratifying and inspiring to see that vision for this come into fruition, to see that a large audience has engaged with this work, the size of which has been mind-boggling.”

“The response has been overwhelming and remarkable,” echoed Schwartz, co-executive producer and director. “Not just that the story we told resonated and had such an impact on people, but that people are talking about the entire space and the industry, about changes and things that are beyond the scope of what we address specifically. It really seemed to hit audiences and resonate with questions and concerns so many people were holding in.”

The spark for their investigative docuseries came from Robertson and Schwartz watching a compilation of internet videos from Dan Schneider’s sets, many of the clips being ones they would explore in Quiet On Set.

“There’s Ariana Grande pouring water on her chest while hanging off the side of her bed,” said Robertson. “Ariana Grande squeezing a potato. Jamie Lynn Spears receiving this squirt of viscous liquid in her face. Questions swirled online about the sexual innuendo in the shows. What were the conditions for these shows to get made? If these videos were created, what else might have been happening behind the scenes that would range from uncomfortable to improper to illegal? What was made on those sets was then consumed by children and influenced children’s sense of normal and what should and shouldn’t be.”

Robertson and Schwartz partnered with Kate Taylor at Business Insider (who had written a piece on the topic) and then brought the project to Jason Sarlanis at ID (President TNT, TBS, TruTV, ID & HLN – Linear and Streaming), who was passionate about it from the onset. After getting the go-ahead, the filmmakers started their outreach to capture as many voices as possible.

“We called as many names as we could from IMDB, people who had worked on set, behind the camera or in front of the camera,” said Schwartz. “We wanted to find out what people’s experiences were. Very quickly, we heard back from people, some of whom never wanted to speak publicly, but they were very encouraging of us digging into this space and felt there was a lot to unearth. As you see, there were a lot of people, and still are people, who are holding a lot of experiences, trauma, and darkness inside.”

One of those people was Drake Bell, who details his abuse from dialogue coach Brian Peck in a devastating interview. Schwartz said that a lot of preparation went into this moment.

“What maybe not everyone appreciates when they watch it, it wasn’t like we called him up, and everything was good. There was a lot of time we had to build trust and rapport and see if he was ready to tell his story. It’s been a process and a journey to get there.”

“The first day that Drake came in for an interview, there was no rustling on set,” said Robertson. “Usually, you can hear clothing moving. Everyone was really listening and focused. I think it’s impossible not to be affected by listening to a grown man describe child abuse. Drake’s story has been met with a lot of generosity, and his coming forward has created a safer environment for others who might have similar stories and want to come forward.”

Many alarm bells ring throughout Quiet on Set, including the fact that Brian Peck gets convicted, released, and goes right back into the industry, but the host of actors who wrote letters in support of him also highlights a misunderstanding of the abuse.

“I think we have a lot of questions about what letter writers knew,” said Schwartz, “and while certainly conversations about power dynamics have changed, I don’t think anyone in society has ever condoned child sex abuse. Whether it’s a matter of not knowing the whole story or not asking the right questions, these are questions we wonder about, what people knew and what they were told. Some people like Will Friedle didn’t realize until they were in the courtroom that day that they were on the wrong side.”

While they can’t alter Bell’s or other child actors’ experiences, Robertson and Schwartz hope their docuseries affects change moving forward. Right now, there’s no law that says a registered sex offender can’t work on set with children.

“We’re hearing a call for federal legislation,” said Robertson. “At the moment, there is no overarching legislation to protect children in entertainment. There’s only a patchwork of state laws depending on the state. Federal legislation could move us toward required background checks.”

Quiet on Set is available to stream on MAX.