Drake Bell defends mom in Quiet on Set Episode 5 — but fans can’t forgive her

While Drake Bell defends his mom, Robin Dodson, in Quiet on Set Episode 5, viewers aren’t so quick to forgive. 

The first part of Investigation Discovery’s true crime docuseries, which arrived last month, sees the Drake & Josh star open up about the abuse he suffered at the hands of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. 

Bell’s dad, Joe Bell, also appears in Quiet on Set to describe how he was suspicious of Peck. But after getting into the heads of the family, Peck allegedly convinced Drake and his mom to fire Joe as his manager. 

When Joe handed all of the paperwork required to handle Drake’s career to Dodson, he had one request: “You never, ever leave Drake alone with Brian Peck and you never let him be around him unsupervised, period.”

This rule wasn’t followed. The abuse continued, until Drake’s ex-girlfriend’s mom stepped in and put a stop to it. As a result, Dodson faced a heavy backlash from Quiet on Set viewers, who accused her of not protecting her son. 

In the bonus Episode 5, which dropped last night (April 7), Drake defends his mom. “A lot of people after the doc were going after my mom a bit. But, if you were in that situation at that time, he [Brian Peck] was so good at what he was doing. 

“He was so calculated. He knew exactly what to say, how to say it, what to do, the image to portray, everything. I completely understand how he just pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. It’s tragic.”

Despite these comments, many viewers are still not ready to forgive Dodson. Taking to X, one wrote: “I know Drake has forgiven his mom, but bro your girlfriend’s mother peeped IMMEDIATELY and your own mom didn’t, after his dad told her to not leave them alone? That was his only ask.”

“He [Joe Bell] asked for one thing, to keep Brian away from Drake. She didn’t listen. It’s all on Drake’s mom,” said another, while a third added, “Sorry Drake, we don’t like your mom! Your dad gave her one thing! One! Your gf’s mom knew something was up… she turned a blind eye period! She deserves jail time as well.”

Others see things differently, however, including this person who said, “If Drake can be at peace with his mom and have a good relationship with her, good for him. I hope she at least took accountability for how she failed him. He seems to be as forgiving as one can be in his situation.”

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is streaming on Max now. You can read one thing missing from the docuseries here, while for more true crime, check out all the documentaries hitting streaming this month.