Drake Bell Says People Assume Everyone on TV Is Rich, but ‘No One' on Nickelodeon Got Paid Residuals

Drake Bell Says He Doesn't Get Residuals from Nickelodeon

Drake Bell vented about not receiving residuals from his time on Nickelodeon during the July 2 episode of ‘The Unplanned Podcast.’ He starred in the network’s ‘Drake & Josh’ alongside Josh Peck for four seasons.

people.com

Drake Bell says that despite what fans assume, Nickelodeon actors like him never received residuals—just one‐time paychecks—so reruns, syndication and streaming never padded their pockets. He pointed out that while shows like Friends earn their casts tens of millions each year from reruns, he’s left scrambling for rent when Drake & Josh keeps popping up on TV and Netflix.

On a recent episode of The Unplanned Podcast, Bell slammed TV execs for treating child stars as cheap labor, likening their profits to “getting high on child labor.” He’s still watching his old show boost corporate bottom lines without seeing a single cent from those replays.