Drake Bell and Josh Peck Reveal the Painful Misunderstanding That Drove Them Apart

Millennials who grew up watching All That, The Amanda Show, and Drake & Josh were stunned when a docuseries revealed the abuse that Drake Bell had suffered at the hands of Brian Peck (no relation to Bell’s Drake & Josh co-star, Josh Peck). Following the March 2024 release of Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids’ TV, Drake, now 38, told his followers that Josh had “reached out to talk with [him] and help [him] work through [the abuse]. And has been really, really great.”

Now, Drake sits down with his former co-star on Good Guys to talk about, among other things, their relationship and how it has changed over the years.

Getting into it

Listening to the comedy duo interact now, you might never suspect any past tension between them. They spontaneously run through dialogue from a beloved Amanda Show Tony Pajamas sketch—“This is crazy! How do we fucking remember this?” asks Josh—while exchanging quips, jokes, and other references. 

But they also acknowledge the darkness of what Drake experienced, at the time unbeknownst to Josh. ”The moments that were great, were great,” says Josh. “And we were incredibly lucky to get to do this thing that we loved. But there’s also the truth of everything you went through, and everything that was unacceptable in so many ways.”

At the same time, both actors know that Drake & Josh was, and remains, beloved by millions. “How much do I just keep this to myself and allow this wonderful memory for the people to just continue to exist?” asks Josh, who has spoken about his own struggles with drugs and alcohol during and after the Nickelodeon days.

Were Drake and Josh ever actually friends?

Yes, but it’s complicated. “There were times when we hung out a lot and we were close,” Drake says. “And then there were times when we just weren’t.” Today, Drake theorizes that trauma that he was going through behind the scenes sometimes bubbled to the surface. “You take it out on whoever’s the one next to you, whoever’s closest to you and with you the most often,” he says.

Josh recalls joining the cast of The Amanda Show and really wanting to befriend Drake. “I thought you were so cool and I really wanted you to like me. And then, thankfully, we had this shared love of old school comedy and, and sitcoms and great television. Once you realized that I was kind of funny and I liked people who liked funny, suddenly, we were inseparable.” 

For his part, Drake remembers growing up with a love for buddy comedy and realizing that he and Josh had incredible comedic chemistry. “This could be something. This could be my thing,” he recalls thinking during The Amanda Show. “And I’m getting so excited, because I’m doing the thing that I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve got my partner to do it with.”

He even remembers having a sleepover at Josh’s house and coming up with ideas for their own show when they were pre-teens. “When we were on The Amanda Show, I  was spending the night at your house, and we were just talking back and forth to each other. ‘Alright, so when it’s our show, what’s it gonna be like?’”

When did the friendship get off track?

Between The Amanda Show ending and Drake & Josh beginning, Bell and his family began preparing to press charges against Brian Peck. Drake recalls going to the doctor because his hair was falling out from stress. He was also worried that Josh would be angry with him for speaking out.

“Is this gonna hurt our show? When this drops, is Josh gonna look at me and be like, ‘Bro, you took our dream away?’ Are we gonna lose our show?,” he remembers worrying.

Josh, unaware of Drake’s ordeal, interpreted the distance differently. “I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14-year-old’s brain,” he says, “Going like, ‘Ah, he doesn’t want much to do with me.’”

Did Josh have suspicions about Brian Peck?

Despite not knowing the full story, Josh recalls sensing strange vibes from Brian. “I didn’t know anything,” he says, “Except I had a feeling something happened. And I remember, we were in the car, and I said, ‘Do you still talk to Brian?’ And you just looked at me like, ‘No. [He’s] a really bad guy.’ And I didn’t know anything more than that, but I was like, ‘That’s clear. Gotcha.’”

A few months later, Josh learned that Brian had been sent to jail. “I think through my simple teenager mind, I just thought, ‘Oh, thank God. He’s going to jail. Good.’

When he watched the documentary years later and learned that Drake had been Brian’s victim, he realized how much more complex the situation was: “Like, what about you? What about the trauma you endured? It’s so much deeper. It’s so much more unacceptable. It’s not this clean, ‘Well, he went to jail, so everyone’s all better.’”

How is their relationship now?

Drake and Josh were both nervous and excited to reunite for Good Guys. They had lunch the week before they recorded to prep and plan for what they would discuss.

“It was a short lunch, he was with the kids that day. And I was driving home and I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot to tell him this. Oh, I wanted to tell him about this.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll just text him about it. No, no, no, don’t text him. That’ll bother him. Wait till he texts you,’” Drake says.

Josh felt similarly about reuniting with Drake. When he told a close family friend that Drake would be coming on the podcast, she said, “Oh my god,  who cares if you even air it? At least you guys are really talking it out, you know?”

Stay tuned for part two of Drake Bell’s episode of Good Guys to learn more about how the former co-stars’ relationship is still evolving and who they keep in touch with from the Nickelodeon days.