Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV | Contenders Television 'The Nominees'
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00:00Welcome back to Deadline Contenders TV, the nominees.
00:08My name is Lynette Rice.
00:09I'm a senior writer at Deadline.
00:11If you haven't yet watched Quiet On Set, the dark side of TV shines a much-needed light
00:16on the toxic and abusive environment inside 90s kids TV.
00:20Here's a clip.
00:21Nickelodeon was kid everything, but that marked one of the darkest chapters.
00:29These are three predators who worked at Nickelodeon.
00:32You get comfortable with people until you're not.
00:35It made me wonder who was being hurt.
00:39Have you ever told your story publicly before?
00:45Here to discuss Quiet On Set are Mary Robertson, the executive producer and director, Emma
00:50Schwartz, co-exec producer and director, Giovanni Samuels, former cast member from All That,
00:57and Brian Hearn, a former cast member from All That.
01:00Welcome everyone.
01:01Thank you for having us.
01:03We really appreciate it.
01:04Mary and Emma, I got to start with you with the obligatory question.
01:09Where were you when you found out about the nomination?
01:12What were you doing?
01:13What were you eating?
01:14Tell me all about it.
01:15Well, it's funny that you ask that because we were on a Zoom and then Giovanni called
01:22us on FaceTime.
01:26So she delivered the news.
01:28Well, I think we'd all just sort of heard at the same time.
01:32You got a text, right, Mary?
01:34Yes.
01:35We weren't watching the announcements because we were nervous.
01:39We were working on another project that we'll be releasing soon.
01:47And yes, a few text messages started to populate the phone and then Gio called and Emma said,
01:54we have to get this.
01:56We were able to share a, oh my God, together.
02:01So that was for Outstanding Documentary, but you also got a nod in the editing category.
02:07Why is this so significant?
02:10I'm incredibly proud of our incredible team of artisans, craft people who helped sculpt
02:17this project.
02:19I think of particular note on this project, we had an editorial team that was all women
02:25and they really devoted themselves to a practice that would foreground and center Brian and
02:34Gio and the voices of our brave contributors who came forward.
02:39And in many ways, their work was to strip away as much ornamentation as they could and
02:48really let the testimony of the former child stars and of those who had worked on these
02:55sets take center stage.
02:59I'm hoping that each one of you can address this.
03:03Usually, you know, when a project like this comes out, there's that initial rush of attention
03:09and then life moves on.
03:11This project had very long legs.
03:13There was a talk about it for a very long time.
03:16I was curious just how life has been like for each one of you, what kind of feedback
03:22you received about the project, the way it landed.
03:25Let me start with you, Emma.
03:26What's it been like for you?
03:29Well, I mean, it's been sort of very exciting to see just how much interest there is, how
03:35much conversation it has started about changing and making conditions better for folks in
03:41the industry. Obviously, there's still a long way to go, but I think the more that there's
03:44that conversation, the more you feel like the work has reached people.
03:48It's changing people's minds and hopefully that changes actions and other things as well.
03:52It's been so meaningful to see the way Quiet On Set has resonated with so many other former
03:57child stars.
03:59You know, there was a period of time in which we were hearing from, you know, a new child
04:04star almost daily.
04:06And they've joined, you know, they've joined a sort of powerful song that Giovanni and
04:11Brian started singing, if you will, along with our other brave contributors.
04:16It's meaningful to see the way Gio and Brian and others who participated in the film have
04:21paved the way for others and helped create conditions that hopefully, you know, allow
04:27others to understand that there's, you know, there's a likelihood that their story will
04:32be received with compassion and sensitivity and that folks are now listening.
04:37It's been a very positive response from fans and colleagues.
04:44Mostly, we've been talking with Congress and trying to set up something so that this can
04:49be a law and that we can continue to be protected.
04:54But for the most part, it's kind of like what Mary's saying.
04:58Everybody's been speaking up and feeling more comfortable and confident speaking up.
05:03And I'm thankful that we were able to do that.
05:07Um, you know, initially, I think that I was just excited to continue a form of activism
05:16and and speak, you know, for people like I've done for the past decade.
05:26But to have the response to be so positive, I mean, there's negative that comes, but
05:32just kind of like brush it off and or even just have hard conversations.
05:39And so, you know, I wouldn't say that life has changed.
05:42It's been a lot of the same, you know, rigmarole that I'm that I'm used to as an as an
05:49activist. But but but it's it's changed in the way that it's become loud and in a very
05:58good way. So I'm just excited to to have an audience.
06:02To speak to and to speak for and and just continue fighting a fight that's very
06:08necessary. Giovanni and Brian, when you initially were filming, did you feel some fear
06:15about putting yourself out there, about talking about this period?
06:18Did you go through moments like, oh, my God, why am I doing this?
06:22Oh, absolutely.
06:24That that yes, absolutely.
06:27But. I guess what gave myself the confidence and, you know, I guess, Brian, as well as
06:34we did it together, that was something that Mary and Emma knew from the beginning.
06:42I'm not doing this by myself and I'm going to do it, but I have to have my bro, my
06:49support with me and for the ones that.
06:55Didn't speak up, we were kind of that solidarity voice for them because they didn't
07:01have. They weren't ready to speak and we wanted to speak for them as well.
07:08Yeah, I think the thing that is most validating about, you know, if I could speak to me
07:14from a year ago, like let him know that it's it's going to be OK, but not only that, it's
07:19going to be OK, but that it's going to inspire people to to share their stories.
07:26That's been overwhelmingly.
07:30Gratifying just to just to hear the stories of other people and and and important
07:37people. I just can't I can't even express the the emotion from it.
07:44Mary and Emma, I went to an FYC panel for the show and it was the one that Drake was on.
07:51It was at the TV Academy.
07:53And, you know, that saying you always hear that you never know what somebody else is
07:56going through and just sitting there watching Drake.
08:01I mean, my heart just broke watching him because it's this journey has probably just
08:06been so extraordinary.
08:08You probably wore many hats during this process, too.
08:11I mean, that of a producer.
08:13But I have to think that you are a therapist sometimes to talking with him.
08:17Can you talk about what it's been like going through this with him?
08:23Well, I could say it's a journey and it was a sort of not exactly a linear journey.
08:29There are days that were easier days that are harder.
08:31And I think, you know, part of sort of what you sign up for when you do projects like
08:35this is you're sort of there for the the ride that the participant and the people who are
08:40sharing their stories are there.
08:41And it takes a lot of courage.
08:44And, you know, sometimes you second guess yourself and it's, you know, trying to figure
08:48out how you make that step forward.
08:49And I think, you know, what has been so gratifying is to see that, you know, when it
08:54really came out, when people received his story with so much compassion and
08:59understanding, I think it really, you know, gave him a level of sort of comfort and
09:06freedom that he had been folding in for literally decades.
09:10And so that's just a unique thing to go through.
09:13And, you know, I hope that that continues to inspire and open other people's minds as
09:19well. Mary, did he have those periods where he was like, can I drop out?
09:24Can you do this without me?
09:28Well, you know, Emma and Drake had a very close dialogue going over the course of many,
09:33many months. And, you know, it was important to us as filmmakers to be there
09:39consistently and to remain there after the broadcast, to be there in the days leading up
09:45to the broadcast and the days after the broadcast.
09:48You know, I think part of creating a trauma sensitive practice and a contributor
09:54sensitive practice is, you know, approaching these relationships with a certain
09:59devotion and an understanding that, you know, we're in this now together for forever.
10:08That's something that is very felt from someone who, you know, participated and, you
10:14know, didn't have a hat that was producer or director.
10:19I feel a closeness to Emma and Mary that, you know, forever.
10:25It's a bond that we that we share now, and I'm rooting for them, you know, from this
10:30project on every project that they do.
10:33I'm standing behind.
10:34So, yeah, absolutely.
10:37Emma has definitely made it comfortable for all of us in this entire process that she's
10:47literally a phone call away and she does respond and she's always been truthful the
10:53entire time that any negative press or things that have been said, it's just not true
11:02because she's always been forthright and honest from the very beginning.
11:05And that's what made me respect her and feel comfortable sharing our story in the first
11:11place. Giovanni, Brian, you said you've been active in advocating for change.
11:16Do you think are you feeling optimistic that change will occur?
11:21Yes, 100 percent, as long as there is breath in my body, yes, 100 percent, yes, both of us
11:30have been kind of active.
11:31There's a Looking Ahead program that is affiliated with SAD that speaks to this very issue.
11:38And I'm going to continue to shout from the rooftops in any way possible.
11:43Brian's nonprofit, he's been working and helping people and making sure that they know
11:48and understand. I'm actually in the process of turning my acting workshops to a nonprofit
11:55so that I can help more people and get it out there.
11:59But if things are still being done, we're like I said, we were talking to Congress and
12:04trying to make this a federal law and not just per state so that everybody is covered and
12:10protected and then eventually, you know, work our way everywhere else.
12:17What would the federal law be?
12:19What would it say in your best case scenario?
12:24Well, if if child predators are allowed to be at school, then they shouldn't be allowed to be
12:32on set. Period.
12:34It's really it's not about making it complicated.
12:38Any kind of rules, because that's how they got over in the first place.
12:42But. It's very simple.
12:45Sometimes laws just need to be simple or common sense to be protected.
12:52Yeah, Mary, now that so many other child actors have come forward, there's a sequel here.
12:58There's more to be told.
12:59Don't you think? How are you feeling about that?
13:03Do you think there's more to be told?
13:05Do you think there's more to be told?
13:06I think Giovanni and Brian would agree that there's more to be told.
13:10And we're devoted to we're devoted to the subject matter.
13:15We're devoted to providing space for others who are ready to share their stories.
13:19We never want to apply pressure on anyone to come forward.
13:24But if and when folks are ready, and then I are very interested in continuing this work.
13:30Can I ask you, you guys, what's next for you, Mary and Emma?
13:33I know you talked about you're working on something else.
13:36Did you want to share it here?
13:37Did you want to say?
13:43Yeah, we, you know, I founded a production company called Maxine Productions a few years ago.
13:49Emma is our first employee.
13:52It's a great addition to the company.
13:55And, you know, we work with an incredible group of people who are hard at work on six different projects right now.
14:04You know, we're very devoted to work that pursues accountability.
14:09But, you know, you know, does so through mass audience engagement.
14:15And, you know, I hope that you'll be hearing more from us soon.
14:21Such an incredible docuseries.
14:24It was and you look back at how many people watched it, too.
14:28And before I go, I just have to ask you, are those all Gen Xers?
14:34Who watched this?
14:36Who do you think watched it, Emma?
14:38Who watched the show?
14:39I think it was a lot of young people, too.
14:41We had a new babysitter and she must have been like 18 and was asking me, oh, what do you do?
14:46I'm like, I do documentaries.
14:48And she's like, like, what are you working on?
14:50And I'm like, I can't tell you now.
14:51But, you know, I did this thing called Quiet On Set.
14:54You know, it's like a babysitter.
14:55You're not trying to, like, you know, show off your resume here.
14:57And she was like, oh, my God, I'm going to watch this.
14:59So I think a lot of young people.
15:01I really do. Wow.
15:03I'm going to go further and say older people as well, because, you know, they
15:10they saw us, you know, watching it with their kids and they saw it.
15:15And and it was devastating for them as well to hear what was happening.
15:21And I've gotten a very mixed review of young and old people coming up and saying, wow, thank you for sharing the story.
15:30Yeah, I live in a very small town in the state that I'm that I'm from currently.
15:37And every age bracket, a person from each age bracket has come and given love and support.
15:45So it's something that's very much appreciated.
15:48Mm hmm. Quite on set, the dark side of TV, even the title is like, oh, this is going to be heavy.
15:55Thank you so much. Thanks so much for your time.