Former “Double Dare” host Marc Summers said Friday he was misled about the premise of the docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.”
Summers went on radio personality Elvis Duran’s eponymous program and said the producers of the docuseries “did a bait and switch on me. They ambushed me. They never told me what this documentary was really about.”
Summers appeared on Duran’s program to promote his off-Broadway show “The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers,” which tells his life story including his time at Nickelodeon.
During the documentary filming, “they showed me a video of something that I couldn’t believe was on Nickelodeon and I said, ‘Well, let’s stop the tape right here. What are we doing?’” Summers said in an interview with Duran. It wasn’t clear from the interview or from the docuseries what clip was shown to Summers.
Summers said he left the “Quiet on Set” interview after 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 while appearing on some hit Nickelodeon shows produced by Dan Schneider.
“I never met Dan Schneider,” Summers told Duran. “When we got done doing ‘Double Dare’ and we had run our run, those people came in after and took over our studios. Never met the man and had no idea about any of those things.”
Summers hosted the Nickelodeon game show “Double Dare” from 1986 to 1993. Schneider got his start on Nick writing for the sketch comedy show “All That” in 1994. The two did not work on a show together.
“Dan has said himself that he was a tough boss to work for and, if he could do things over again, he would act differently,” a spokesperson for Schneider previously told NBC News. “But let’s be clear, when Dan departed Nickelodeon, a full investigation was done and again, all that was found is that he was a challenging, tough and demanding person to work for and with, nothing else.”
NBC News has not independently corroborated or verified the claims made in the documentary.
After the incident, Summers said that he was told he was “totally out” of the docuseries, but he 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 the inclusion of the clip of him reacting to the video in the docuseries.
Summers suggested that it was unethical for the “Quiet on Set” producers to include the clip without his knowledge. He also said the docuseries “made it seem like I knew those people” when he said he never met them.
In a joint statement, Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, who directed the series, said, “We are clear with each participant about the nature of our projects.”
Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Maxine Productions, which produced “Quiet on Set,” and its parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The docuseries features various clips from shows like “Zoey 101,” “iCarly” and “Victorious” that have seemingly sexually suggestive scenes. Schneider previously said that all scenes were approved by the network.
“Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny,” Schneider previously said in a video addressing the docuseries. “Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens. I have no problem with that. Let’s cut those jokes out of the show.”
