Drake Bell Exposes Nickelodeon Streaming Pay Gap After ‘Drake & Josh’ Boom
Riley Carter here with the lowdown.
Drake Bell just revealed he has earned zero dollars in residuals from the hit Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, despite its roaring streaming success.
On the July 2 episode of the Unplanned podcast, the 39-year-old actor pushed back against the idea that anyone who appears on TV is swimming in cash. “The perception of the world has always been this way, ‘Oh you made a Folgers coffee commercial, you must live in a mansion in Hollywood. I saw you on TV. You are rich,’ and that is far from the case,” he said. His frustration centers on not receiving the same syndication checks that other performers, even guests with just a couple of lines, still collect.
Bell explained that most television professionals rely on residuals as their major income after a show wraps. Actors, writers and crew typically need 100 episodes to hit syndication, which is the real money maker. Yet he and co-star Josh Peck, who co-led the four-season sitcom ending in 2007, have seen “not a dime” in repeat fees while guest performers still get mailing checks for single-episode appearances.
This gap feels especially stark now, as three channels run marathon airings of Drake & Josh and Netflix recently bought streaming rights. Despite seeing the series rank in the platform’s Top Ten, Bell admitted, “I have to figure out how to pay my rent this month.” He warned that fans scrolling through slick social feeds rarely grasp the behind-the-scenes industry rules that leave former child stars low on funds.
Bell has been open about the challenges of growing up on television. Talking to People Magazine in March, he said children thrust into show business often face a world without guidance. “You’re thrown to the wolves and you’re expected to make the right decisions, do the right things without any guidance,” he said.
The conversation around pay transparency has grown in other corners of entertainment. On Dancing With the Stars, champion Jenna Johnson said professional dancers earn between $1,200 and $1,600 per episode, potentially topping out near $100,000 per season according to multiple reports. Celebrity contestants start at roughly $125,000 and pick up bonus payments up to $50,000 as they advance toward the finale.
In Hollywood’s film world, Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence earned $25 million to star in the comedy Don’t Look Up, while her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio got $30 million. Lawrence told Vanity Fair that box office clout often explains such differences and that women in the workforce face similar gaps.
This spate of candid paycheck disclosures shines a spotlight on the opaque mechanics of entertainment financing. From syndicated sitcoms to live dance competitions and blockbuster films, salary structures vary wildly and not always in performers’ favor.
So yeah, that’s the scoop. Catch you later.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Unplanned podcast, People Magazine, Vanity Fair
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
