Former Double Dare host Mark Summers said Friday that he was misled about the premise of the documentary series “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
Summers participated in the radio show that bears his name, hosted by Elvis Duran, and said that the producers of the docuseries “tricked me and tricked me. They ambushed me. They never told me what this documentary was really about.”
Summers appeared on Duran to promote his off-Broadway show “The Life and Dirts of Mark Summers,” which tells the story of his life including his time at Nickelodeon.
While filming the documentary, “they showed me a video of something that I couldn't believe was on Nickelodeon and I said, 'Okay, let's stop the tape here.' What do we do?'' Summers said in an interview with Duran. It was not clear from the interview or the docuseries what clip Summers was shown.
Summers said he left the “Quiet on Set” interview after the producers showed him the video and explained the premise of the series.
“Quiet on Set” featured interviews with several crew members and former child stars who alleged abuse, inappropriate behavior and a toxic work environment during their appearances on some of the hit Nickelodeon shows produced by Dan Schneider.
“I've never met Dan Schneider,” Summers told Duran. “When we finished doing Double Dare and had a run, these guys then came along and took over our studios. I never met the guy and I had no idea about any of that stuff.
Summers hosted the Nickelodeon game show “Double Dare” from 1986 to 1993. Schneider began his career with Nick writing for the sketch comedy show “All That” in 1994. The two had never worked on a show together.
“Dan has said himself that he was a difficult boss to work for, and if he could do things over again, he would do things differently,” a spokesperson for Schneider previously told NBC News. “But let's be clear, when Dan left Nickelodeon, a full investigation was done, and again, all that was found was that he was a difficult, difficult, demanding person to work for and with, nothing else.”
NBC News has not independently confirmed or verified the allegations in the documentary.
After the incident, Summers said he was told he was “completely out” of the documentary series, but was later informed that he would be included in the first episode to give context about the “positive” aspects of Nickelodeon. Summers said he was “lied to” about including his reaction to the video in the docuseries.
Summers noted that it was unethical for the producers of “Quiet on Set” to include the clip without his knowledge. He also said that the docuseries “made it seem like I knew these people” when he said he had never met them.
“We are clear with every participant about the nature of our projects,” Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, the series’ directors, said in a joint statement.
Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Maxine Productions, which produced Quiet on Set, and parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The docu-series contains various clips from shows like “Zoey 101,” “iCarly,” and “Victorious” that apparently contain sexually suggestive scenes. Schneider previously said that all scenes were approved by the network.
“Every one of these jokes was written for a children's audience because the kids thought it was funny,” Schneider previously said in a video covering the docu-series. “Now we have some adults looking at them 20 years later through their lenses. I have no problem with that. Let's cut those jokes out of the show.”
