Drake Bell offered a firm “Nickelodeon sucks” in a new interview with N3on while discussing the money he says he’s missing out on in connection with the success of Drake & Josh.
For those somehow unfamiliar, the original sitcom, starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck, wrapped in 2007 after a four-season run on the network. The series remains a cultural touchstone to this day, though Bell’s own affiliation with Nickelodeon took a heartbreaking turn when, in the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set, he publicly detailed the sexual abuse he says he endured from a dialogue coach as a minor.
Speaking with N3on this week, Bell was asked how he was paid for his work on Drake & Josh, specifically, with the actor and musician pointing out that his income was derived from weekly checks.
“You get a weekly check, and that’s it,” he said, as seen below. “That’s it. Unfortunately, no residuals and all that kind of stuff.”
Asked if that was “normal,” Bell, who has spoken about the lack of Drake & Josh residuals in the past, argued that it was not.
“No,” he said. “It’s not normal.”
N3on then asked him why that was the arrangement, leading to Bell’s succinct assessment of the situation.
“‘Cause Nickelodeon sucks,” he said. “Oh, can I not say that?”
Bell went on to say that whether one does, or does not, receive residuals “depends on the contracts,” though it’s easier to find yourself agreeing to a deal that may not be adequately lucrative in the long run when you’re a young actor.
“You don’t sign the contract, well, the next kid that gets off the Greyhound bus from Wichita, Kansas, he’ll take the job. … There’s good and bad from it,” he added. “It’s like, well, I have the opportunity to now do things that I love to do, and [it] opens doors, and I have fans.”
In October, Bell criticized SAG-AFTRA after being denied health coverage through the union.
