Former Child Star Star Says ‘No One’ on Nickelodeon Gets Residuals

According to Drake Bell, he nor any of his Nickelodeon colleagues are getting paid currently from their successful shows. The Drake & Josh alum was with the network from 1992 to 2014, starring in shows like The Amanda Show and The Fairly Oddparents.

He says residuals are not a thing for Nickelodeon stars. And it’s not something he agrees with.

“That’s the perception of the world, it’s always been this way,” Bell said during an episode of The Unplanned Podcast. “It’s like, you know, ‘Oh, you made a Folgers Coffee commercial. You must live in a mansion in Hollywood. Like, I saw you on TV. You’re rich.’”

“That’s far from the case,” he explained. “And especially, which is the bummer for most of us on Nickelodeon, we don’t get residuals for our shows.”

According to Bell, most stars from the network only receive a one-time payment for their work. He says the network’s system is “flawed,” comparing it to the likes of stars who still receive residuals from shows like Seinfeld and Friends.

“You want to get into syndication,” Bell told podcast hosts Abby and Matt Howard. “You want to get to 100 episodes so that you can get to syndication, and then you want to get into syndication because then you get your residual money, that’s where you make your money. For example, the ‘Friends’ cast at the peak was making a million dollars an episode,” he continued. “You make 13 episodes that year, you make $13 million. You make 20 episodes that year, you make $20 million, right? But right now, each cast member of ‘Friends,’ just in syndication alone, is making over $20 million a year, and they’re not filming a show every week. They’re not going to work, but they’re playing their show and they’re using their likeness and they’re doing all this, so they get paid for it.”

He says the Nickedoleon system is “corrupt” for how they handle business. “That’s the only thing, that is the answer,” he said. “There’s no other answer.” Despite all of his success on the network, he filed for bankruptcy in 2014.

Last year, Bell participated in the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries, highlighting the toxic behind-the-scenes world of children’s TV shows, many of which were led by Dan Schneider. In the series, Bell revealed he had been sexually assaulted by acting coach Brian Peck.