Former Nickelodeon Producer Dan Schneider Allowed to File Defamation Lawsuit Against Shocking 'Quiet on Set' Docuseries

Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider was given the green light to go ahead with his defamation lawsuit against the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV docuseries.

Schneider claimed the series was a "hit job" that falsely painted him as being guilty of sexual abuse.

Warner Bros. and Sony tried to get the suit dismissed under the anti-SLAPP statute, "which bars litigation intended to chill speech on matters of public concern." They also noted the docuseries did not actually make any sexual assault allegations against Schneider.

However, Judge Ashfaq G. Chowdhury ruled in Schneider's favor, stating a viewer could conclude that the series makes "damning implications about his conduct."

Chowdhury explained of his decision that Schneider’s lawyers argued "persuasively that defamation can be implied, that the trailer and documentary state or imply Schneider sexually abused children who worked on his show and that Schneider was a child sexual abuser."

In the Max special, which debuted in March, countless reporters and former Nickelodeon staffers accused Schneider, 58, of creating a toxic work environment.

In addition to claims that he forced employees to give him massages, it was said he favored men over women and underpaid females. One woman also made suspicious comments about the nature of Schneider's relationship with Amanda Bynes,

"I definitely saw Amanda being very close physically with Dan. There were many times that I saw Amanda sitting behind him hugging him, or like giving him a neck massage or whatever," editor Karyn Finley recalled. "Dan and Amanda had a close relationship, and I didn’t think anything different than that."

After the doc aired, Schneider denied having an inappropriate relationship with the She's the Man actress, 38, and said he was "supportive" of her when she wanted to become emancipated from the parents.

Another shocking storyline was Drake Bell's confession that he was sexually assaulted by dialogue coach Brian Peck.

While Peck eventually served time in prison for his crimes, the Drake & Josh co-creator was not involved. However, some people believed he knew of Peck's behaviors, which Schneider denied.

The "Found a Way" crooner, 38, had nothing bad to say about Schneider, admitting he was actually "the only person" who reached out to him when the allegations broke.

After the docuseries aired, Schneider apologized for the way he treated his employees and actors and admitted some quotes in his scripts were too adult for a child audience.

"Those jokes (were) written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny and only funny, OK? Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens, and they’re looking at them and they’re saying, ‘Oh, you know, I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kid show,’ and I have no problem with that," the All That writer said. "If that’s how anyone feels, let’s cut those jokes out of the show — just like I would have done 20 years ago."

Variety reported on Schneider being allowed to file the defamation lawsuit.