Despite sharing disturbing allegations about suffering abuse at the hands of a dialogue coach as a teenager on Nickelodeon, as seen in the docuseries Quiet On Set, Drake Bell said he’s open to take part in a reboot of Drake & Josh.
Drake Bell now 38, revealed he and his former onscreen brother have in fact ‘talked about’ a potential follow-up to their old hit teen sitcom, only this time around they would follow a buddy comedy format that takes place 20 years after the original.
‘I would love to. We’ve talked about it,’ Drake Bell told The Patriot-News. ‘But I also didn’t want to do it when everyone was doing the reboots. It’s like, “Okay, of course, let’s do a reboot because everyone’s doing reboots.”‘
He added, ‘If we’re going to do something, it should be more special. Let’s hit ’em with a bang, instead of, “oh, another reboot.”‘
Drake Bell went on to suggest one of the ideas he and Peck discussed together, where they play different versions the old Jake and Josh characters.
‘I don’t think I would do us playing the characters from the show, or having [our sister] Meg [Miranda Cosgrove],’ he said, before elaborating. ‘I think, luckily for us, it’s our names, so we can still play Drake Bell and Josh. But I think it’d be funnier if we go on to doing other buddy comedies, you know. Something that is kind of a surprise, a little different. It would be more interesting.’
In the original, created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon, Bell and Peck played odd-couple-like stepbrothers Drake Parker (Bell) and Josh Nichols (Peck) during the show’s four season run on the network form 2004 to 2007.
Drake & Josh was a ratings success, garnering 3.2 million viewers for its premiere episode, which seem to set the tone as a show consistently ranked among the most watched series in its demographic.
Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein starred as Drake’s mother and Josh’s father, respectively, while Miranda Cosgrove portrayed Drake’s devious younger sister.
A television special, Really Big Shrimp, served as the series finale in September 2007, marking 56 episodes in four seasons for the show.
After the finale, the network ended up airing a one-time special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh in 2008.
Along with Bell, Peck, and the rest of the main cast, there were also a staple of recurring roles such as 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 he suffered in Quiet On Set , a five-part documentary that detailed some of the toxic behind-the-scenes world of children’s television programs from the 1990s to the 2000s.
In the third episode, Bell reveals he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
The actor and musician maintains he got loads of support in the wake of the revelations he made in the Quiet On Set documentary
Dialogue coach Brian Peck ended up pleading no contest to the abuse charges and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
Currently, Bell is primarily focused on his music right now, and his ongoing tour in support of his fifth album Non-Stop Flight.
After playing his most recent show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the singer and guitarist took to his Instagram page and wrote, ‘Thank you so much.’
His next show is scheduled for The Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan on Sunday, August 18.
Peck was arrested and charged in 2003 for child sexual abuse, but the victim’s name had been sealed.
Ultimately, the television employee was sentenced to 16 months in prison, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
In the wake of the premiere, Bell revealed that the support he’s received from fans ‘has been incredible.’
‘There’s been a ton of support. And when you are diving into something like that, you are very trepidatious. It’s an emotional roller coaster. You don’t know how people are going to react, or what what’s going to happen, or what the aftermath is going to be,’ the Newport Beach, California native shared. ‘People are coming up and sharing their stories. And it’s been really nice.’