Following his shocking revelations in Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Drake Bell hasn’t totally ruled out a return to his roots.
The actor recently revealed that he and his former onscreen brother Josh Peck have “talked about” a potential reboot of their early aughts Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh, pitching a buddy comedy format for the duo, 20 years after the show premiered.
“I would love to. We’ve talked about it,” Bell told The Patriot-News. “But I also didn’t want to do it when everyone was doing the reboots. It’s like, ‘Okay, of course, let’s do a reboot because everyone’s doing reboots.’ If we’re going to do something, it should be more special. Let’s hit ’em with a bang, instead of, ‘oh, another reboot.’”
He and Peck played the titular odd-couple stepbrothers in the kids show that ran for four seasons from 2004 to 2007, also starring Miranda Cosgrove as their younger sister Megan.
“I don’t think I would do us playing the characters from the show, or having [our sister] Meg,” added Bell. “I think, luckily for us, it’s our names, so we can still play Drake and Josh. But I think it’d be funnier if we go on to doing other buddy comedies, you know. Something that is kind of a surprise, a little different. It would be more interesting.”
Jonathan Goldstein, Miranda Cosgrove, Drake Bell, Josh Peck and Nancy Sullivan in Drake & Josh (2004-07). (Nickelodeon/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The interview comes after the ID docuseries Quiet on Set, in which Bell revealed the abuse he suffered at the hands of dialogue coach Brian Peck while he was a teenager on Nickelodeon. Peck pled no contest and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
Bell said the support from fans and response to the documentary “has been incredible” as he goes on tour with his fifth album Non-Stop Flight.
“There’s been a ton of support. And when you are diving into something like that, you are very trepidatious. It’s an emotional roller coaster. You don’t know how people are going to react, or what what’s going to happen, or what the aftermath is going to be,” said Bell, adding: “People are coming up and sharing their stories. And it’s been really nice.”