Blue’s Clues star Steve Burns is sharing his honest thoughts on the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries.
“I don’t have any particular insight into any of that,” Burns, 50, shared with Today.com in an interview published Sunday, April 7. “I’m coming to it much the same as anyone else, with horror and heartbreak. It’s just terrible to watch it unfold. I don’t know what else to say, other than that it’s heartbreaking.”
Quiet on Set features former child stars and crew members recalling their experiences on the sets of various Nickelodeon shows in the ‘90s and 2000s, including All That and The Amanda Show.
The project primarily focuses on the influence producer Dan Schneider had on the sets of his hit shows and his involvement in allegedly creating a toxic work environment.
Quiet on Set also spotlights allegations from Drake Bell that he was sexually abused by dialogue coach Brian Peck, who was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2004 for sexually assaulting a minor. (Peck has no relation to Bell’s former costar Josh Peck.)
Burns, who played Steve in the popular Nick Jr. series Blue’s Clues from 1996 to 2002, said Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon programming “were so different.”
“We’re in New York, they’re in L.A.,” he said. “There’s no overlap whatsoever between any of those shows and what we were doing.”
Bell as well as All That cast members Katrina Johnson, Giovonnie Samuels, Kyle Sullivan and Bryan Hearne were some of the people who participated in Quiet on Set and shared their experiences working at Nickelodeon.
When watching the docuseries, Burns said he has empathy for all the alleged victims who now have to relive the ordeal now that Quiet on Set is streaming on Max.
“It’s got to be so unfathomably painful,” he shared. “The fact that this is now what everyone’s talking about at the watercooler, it just breaks my heart.”
Schneider, 58, who parted ways with Nickelodeon in 2018, previously denied inappropriate conduct allegations. He has since addressed the allegations made by participants featured in the project.
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult,” Schneider said in a YouTube video interview with iCarly alum BooG!e on March 19. “Me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret, and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.”
“The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone,” Schneider added. “I definitely at times didn’t give people the best of me. I didn’t show enough patience. I could be cocky and definitely overambitious and sometimes just straight-up rude and obnoxious and I am so sorry that I ever was.”
Nickelodeon also released a statement after Quiet on Set was released.
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” the network said in a statement to NBC News on March 13. “Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
