Drake and Josh and Ben (Part 1)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Good Guys – "Drake and Josh and Ben (Part 1)"

Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction In this deeply engaging episode of Good Guys, hosts Josh Peck and Ben Soffer welcome former co-star Drake Bell to discuss their shared experiences on the iconic Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh. The conversation delves into their friendship, the pressures of child stardom, and the revelations brought to light by a recent documentary.

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Reconnecting and Nostalgia The episode begins with a warm reunion as Josh Peck and Ben Soffer express their excitement to have Drake Bell on the show. Ben shares his admiration for Drake, emphasizing how long he has been a fan. The hosts reminisce about the creation of their podcast theme song, highlighting their collaborative efforts and mutual respect.

Notable Quote:

Ben Soffer [00:39]: "I'm just saying, Drake, if you ever want to collab we have some great pipes."

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The Magic of Drake & Josh Drake Bell reflects on the enduring popularity of Drake & Josh, sharing anecdotes about how the theme song resonates with international audiences. He emphasizes the unique chemistry between him and Josh, attributing much of the show's success to their genuine friendship and comedic timing.

Notable Quote:

Drake Bell [03:16]: "I think when we wrote the theme song, we had only written 30 seconds of it. It had no bridge, no second verse."

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Behind the Scenes: Challenges and Trauma The conversation takes a more serious turn as Drake opens up about the darker aspects of his time on the show. He discusses the inappropriate behavior of a supervising figure, revealing the emotional and psychological toll it took on him and Josh. Drake shares his struggles with stress, leading to physical symptoms like hair loss, and the difficulty of maintaining friendships under such pressure.

Notable Quote:

Drake Bell [06:01]: "We were going through stuff outside of our relationship, like emotional things, and it was like taking it out on whoever was closest to you."

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Impact of the Recent Documentary Josh and Drake discuss the impact of a documentary that shed light on the misconduct they endured during their time on Drake & Josh. Ben shares his perspective as an outsider, highlighting how the documentary provided him with a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by child actors. They explore themes of accountability, the #MeToo movement, and the long-term effects of trauma.

Notable Quote:

Josh Peck [52:00]: "The documentary was completely eye-opening for me because I had no idea."

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Reflections as Parents As fathers themselves, Josh and Drake reflect on how their childhood experiences influence their approach to parenting. They express concerns about the lack of protection and support for young actors in the industry, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe environment for their own children.

Notable Quote:

Olivia [52:00]: "I can't imagine losing those formative years or being given such responsibility and pressure at that age."

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Maintaining Friendships Amidst Adversity Despite the challenges, Josh and Drake emphasize the strength of their enduring friendship. They recount moments of mutual support and understanding, illustrating how their bond has withstood the pressures of fame and personal struggles.

Notable Quote:

Josh Peck [57:06]: "You can't recreate it. And looking back in hindsight to sort of close the loop on the question Ben asked 40 minutes ago."

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Closing Thoughts The episode concludes with heartfelt reflections on their journey, highlighting the importance of honesty, support, and resilience. Josh, Ben, and Drake underscore the value of addressing past traumas openly, fostering a space for healing and growth.

Notable Quote:

Drake Bell [44:32]: "It's unbelievably illuminating to see, like, how now it's really confusing."

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Conclusion This episode of Good Guys offers an intimate look into the lives of former child actors navigating the legacy of their shared past. Through candid conversations, Josh Peck, Ben Soffer, and Drake Bell provide valuable insights into the complexities of friendship, the challenges of early fame, and the path to healing.

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For more insightful episodes, subscribe to Good Guys on your preferred podcast platform and stay tuned for future discussions every Monday & Thursday!

Transcript

[Josh Peck]

The following podcast is a dear media production. Two Jews, both big and tall. No subject too small for the good guys. A mother's dream premium podcast team. Make it your weekly routine. It's a good guys.

[Ben Soffer]

And if you don't give us five stars.

[Josh Peck]

What are you nuts?

[Ben Soffer]

What are you nuts? Yeah, we're the good guys.

[Josh Peck]

They're not the great guys. We're just the good of the good guys.

[Drake Bell]

Okay.

[Josh Peck]

Drake Bell.

[Drake Bell]

Hey, what's up, buddy?

[Josh Peck]

Thank you for being here.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Josh Peck]

Ben. We're terribly underdressed.

[Ben Soffer]

We're terribly underdressed. And Drake, I'd be remiss not to mention that, like, I grew up as the biggest Drake and Josh fan of all time. Like, this is. No, you can ask Josh, like, from day one. Like, you are circled number one guest.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, that's awesome.

[Ben Soffer]

We've been doing this for, like, two and a half years. I just found out, though, that the. The words of the song are. It's gonna take some time to realign. I always thought it was realize.

[Drake Bell]

Well, you know what's interesting is even on the closed captioning, like, you know, I've watched the show. I don't know if it was on Netflix or what it was, but I've seen closed captioning get it wrong too.

[Ben Soffer]

So unbelievable.

[Drake Bell]

It's. Yeah, it's. It's a common thing, but, you know, it doesn't rhyme. Realize. Doesn't rhyme. If you think so. If you. You know, I don't know if that. I don't want to.

[Josh Peck]

I don't want to brag, but we, too, have a theme song, and we do. I just want to say the people will be going pretty nuts.

[Drake Bell]

I. I think I've heard it, and it's pretty cool.

[Josh Peck]

Thanks, man.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ben Soffer]

Josh wrote it. Josh wrote it. Who did it from scratch?

[Josh Peck]

I did.

[Drake Bell]

You did it.

[Josh Peck]

And super Chris. Okay. Produced it.

[Drake Bell]

Wait, really?

[Josh Peck]

Yeah. The great, super Chris Abraham.

[Drake Bell]

Shut up. Yeah. Okay.

[Josh Peck]

Can you hear it?

[Drake Bell]

Can I hear it? Can you play it right now?

[Josh Peck]

I don't even know if we have it. Yes, I have it right here.

[Drake Bell]

Wait, that's funny that you said Chris did it because. Wait, play it. Because I. When I listened to it, I was like, oh, there's some. Okay, that makes sense.

[Josh Peck]

I feel like I'm playing my demo tape for Paul McCartney.

[Drake Bell]

So good. Did you see you're singing on it?

[Josh Peck]

Yeah, well, Ben and I are both singing on it.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, sick.

[Josh Peck]

The great Ben here.

[Ben Soffer]

I'm just saying, Drake, if you ever want to collab we have some great pipes.

[Drake Bell]

Right. When you play it, I'm gonna know.

[Josh Peck]

We do a little clip before. Here we go. It's coming. We got it.

[Drake Bell]

Yes. Yes.

[Ben Soffer]

How do we invest?

[Josh Peck]

Classic button. Shout out. Small business. Two Jews, both big and tall. No subject too small for the good guys. Mother Stream premium podcast team. Make it your weekly routine.

[Ben Soffer]

It's a good guys.

[Josh Peck]

And if you don't give us five stars, super great special.

[Ben Soffer]

What do you know?

[Josh Peck]

Come on, come on, come on.

[Ben Soffer]

Yeah. Oh, so good.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, my God, that's hilarious. Oh, my gosh, that's so. Has anyone made any references to. Why does your theme song sound so much like Drake Bell's second album, only everyone? It does. Yeah, but. But it's good.

[Josh Peck]

It's.

[Drake Bell]

That's. Yeah, that's dope. That's my. That's my jam.

[Josh Peck]

It's kind of you to say, considering, like. And I'm not joking around here, you have made one of the iconic theme songs.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, thanks, man.

[Josh Peck]

Does that trip you out how much people love it?

[Drake Bell]

Okay, cool. So it's weird talking like this, but let's talk about it. Yeah, it's fricking rad. Like, it's such a trip. Like, you know, I travel all over the world and I play that song. And it's an audience of, you know, 20,000 people. They don't speak English, but they're singing every single lyric to the song. Like it's, you know, or we're out at some club somewhere or some, you know, and that song comes on and, like, the entire feeling in the bar just instantly changes, and everyone sings every lyric everyone starts. It's like, it's really crazy. And growing up being such a fan of iconic tv, you know, classic television and all, you know, what's cool is it's a song. Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Whereas a lot of these things, It's a great 30 to 45 seconds, but where does it go? You know, you don't hear the mash theme and go like, God, put that on. I can't wait for the bridge.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, yeah, totally.

[Josh Peck]

Totally show.

[Drake Bell]

Well, that was what was interesting, because when we wrote the theme song, we had only written 30 seconds of it. We'd only written the verse and the chorus. So it had no bridge, had no second verse. And then when we knew that it was gonna be the theme song for the show, we went back and we're like, well, well, now we have to put this on the record. And we're like, well, now we have to finish it. And it's a little bit More of a daunting task when you, like, have a song that people have already accepted already, like, and already. And now you have to add to it. You're like, oh, shit. Well, now I'm adding to something people already like, am I putting the chat Mona Lisa right? Am I going to mess? Like. Whereas if you just gave them the finished song, then, you know. You know. But now we're like. It was so. We were just like, the second verse has to be perfect. I mean, it can't be. We're. We're going to give it to them, and, like, we love this part. But then all of a sudden, like, what.

[Josh Peck]

It really works.

[Drake Bell]

But then we just. So. Yeah. And then it. It turned out all right.

[Ben Soffer]

Did Nick pay you to write that song? Because Josh loves talking about how you guys get no residuals. So I just want to make sure that they're playing the theme song. You get some money.

[Drake Bell]

I wrote that song. I mean, it's pennies. You know, it's not like I'm. It's not like I'm, you know, it's like paying my mortgage or anything.

[Josh Peck]

Next year, It'll be almost 20 years since we filmed the show, and I'm not quite sure we've ever sat down and talked.

[Drake Bell]

No.

[Josh Peck]

The way we are now.

[Drake Bell]

No.

[Josh Peck]

And what's amazing is we have Ben and Olivia here, who are also, you know, true fans. Watch the show. And so, please, you know, carte blanche to. You are the voice of the people.

[Ben Soffer]

I just, like, were you guys very close when filming the show? Like, walk me through the years.

[Drake Bell]

So, wow, this is going to be like therapy.

[Josh Peck]

It is.

[Drake Bell]

Because it's so interesting how, you know, I have my perspective and what I had. And especially because, like, we were going through this, like, during our adolescence and when we were, like, changing and learning and all of this. And it's going to be interesting to see, like, what my perspective was and what your perspective was and if they align at all. Yeah.

[Ben Soffer]

Joshua Family therapy.

[Drake Bell]

I would say. I would say there were at times when we hung out a lot and we were close, and then there were times when not for any reason, but just, like, weren't. And then I think that there were times when, you know, when you are working with somebody that every day, day in and day out, and you're going through stuff in. At home or emotional thing, you know, just things that, you know, and then they come out with the person, you know, it's like you take it out on whoever. The one next to whoever is closest to you, and with you the most often, you know, it's like your mom's like, why are you taking this out of me? It's like, well, you're the one that's there. You know, it's like, you know, your sister, your girlfriend, your brother, whatever it is. And I think that we suffered the brunt of that a little bit sometimes where there were times where it was like, yeah, we might not have been getting along, but I think it's like we were dealing with a lot of shit outside of our relationship for us, like, working together.

[Josh Peck]

Or as my mother would say, I'm not here for you to unload. I take on your mishigos. It affects me for days. You're out running around and I'm here bleeding. Thanks, Mom. It's called enmeshment. And a lot of therapy on that. Wait, before we jump into the backstory, I gotta ask first, because this is what the people want to know most are you and Justin Bieber. Cool. People are asking.

[Drake Bell]

I don't even know. I've met him one time. I never.

[Josh Peck]

You guys did a little Twitter beef back at the time.

[Drake Bell]

Well, it wasn't even, like, with him. I just. I just tweeted, like, some, like, stupid, like, tweet that was like. Somebody tweeted a picture of him, like, aied with, like, makeup on. And it was like. But it looked really good. It, like, looked really real. And I just kind of, like, retweeted it. I didn't know about the Believers. I wasn't aware.

[Josh Peck]

And it was.

[Drake Bell]

All of a sudden, it was like, kill yourself, Die. Your. Everything you've ever made is trash. Drake and Josh is trash. Like, this and that. And I, like, it literally went from waking up one day to being like, Drake, Josh, the greatest show ever. We love. And then the next day was like, everything you've ever made should burn. And we're going to make sure it does. It was like the Beatles, like, outside, like, burning our. Like, you know, like, I said that we bigger than Jesus or something, you know, And I. I was just like, what? But then, you know, sometimes I can't keep my thumbs to myself. And I'm like, can't relate. Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And I'm like.

[Drake Bell]

I'm like, you know what? I'm like, you know what, Justin? I'm like, you know what? You know what? Well, and so I started making fun of, like, the show Drake.

[Josh Peck]

No more. No more. We can't do it. They're gonna mimic us all the way.

[Drake Bell]

I can only imagine, dude, we're. If we are working on a project together ever in the future. Like, you would literally just be like, every time I have my phone out, you'd be like, drake away. No, no, I'm not. There's. It's in the cont. It says right here, drake Bell cannot ever be texting nor tweeting or xing, whatever.

[Ben Soffer]

Do you hate money, Drake?

[Josh Peck]

Are you allergic to money?

[Drake Bell]

But yeah, so it wasn't really. I really, really had a problem with Justin Bieber. Who cares? He's. He's actually really great artist.

[Josh Peck]

Well, remember then. I remember that you were like, many people have had little Twitter beefs.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And then you had an album release party that I was at.

[Drake Bell]

Yes.

[Josh Peck]

At the Grove.

[Drake Bell]

Yes.

[Josh Peck]

And Bieber pulled up.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, yeah. And dude. And Kyle Massey, who's, like, one of Justin's best friends, has been best friends for years. I've known. You know, I don't. Do you know Kyle and you know Chris, his brother, you know, so, you know, I've known Kyle for years. Well, I'm going up the stairs to my birthday, and I didn't invite Kyle. Like, Kyle wasn't on. Like, you know, but he runs up to me at the bottom of the stairs, if you remember where. Like, the outside where you go up and then you go in.

[Josh Peck]

Okay.

[Drake Bell]

So he runs up to me and he's like, drake, Drake, I gotta talk to you right now. And I was about to go. Cause remember, we played at the album release? And so I was like, oh, man, I'm about to go on right now. Like, come upstairs and hang out. Like, I'll talk to you right after I get off stage. And he's like, no, bro, I need to talk to you now. It's really important. And I was like, are you on? Like, what is going. Like, you're acting so weird. Like, I'm like, I'll talk to you after. Yeah, well, after his bus rolled up, I was like, oh. Kyle was like, yo, homie, Justin's on his way here right now. Like, I think he was giving me the, like, the. Wanting to give me, like, the warning. But, yeah, then he rolls up and does. I didn't. You know, the thing is, is the whole time I was doing the thing with the Believers and stuff, like, that was just me messing around. I didn't think in my mind, Justin Bieber was like, you know, in some. On an island. On an island with Selena Gomez, you know, buying gold and eating, you know, golden chocolate on the top of a mountain. I don't know. I see him as like, this Untouchable, Untouchable rock like the hell would he see a tweet from me like Justin Bieber, the biggest. Elvis Presley saw a tweet from me and cared like, are you kidding me?

[Josh Peck]

Oh, I'm petty like that.

[Drake Bell]

You know, if I ever have real.

[Josh Peck]

Success, I'm gonna look at them all.

[Drake Bell]

But I tweet my name. You know, I've never told this story, but I actually, I saw Scooter at Bootsy Bellows one night.

[Josh Peck]

Famous club, West Hollywood.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah. And so I go up to Scooter and I'm like, yo, hey, what's up, man? And he looks at me, goes, bro, is that really you on Twitter or is that like somebody else? I'm like, you see that? He's like, yeah, Justin does too, man. He's bummed. Drake and Josh is like his favorite show growing up.

[Josh Peck]

Okay.

[Drake Bell]

And I was like, I go, whoa, hang on, bro. Like that's. I'm just messing with the. Like he sees my tweet, bro. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. Like, I just, I just, sometimes I separate. I don't connect the fact that like, sure, this guy that's tweeting like from his bed at six in the morning has ears around the world. I don't know.

[Josh Peck]

Wait, Ben, were you going to say something?

[Ben Soffer]

No, no, I'm just listening.

[Josh Peck]

I'm sad to report that the first time I ever met Bieber, we happened to be at a co ed Russian bath. That's right, at Voda Spa. And I see him walk in, which you would think the only place that he would have some anonymity is with a bunch of old Russian dudes.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Of hit by Grape Leaves or whatever.

[Drake Bell]

Was that here in la? I think I know the place you're talking about.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah, yeah. So I like, I would never do this, but I just kind of like we make eye contact and I go, hey man, nice to meet you. And he goes, oh, we've met before, haven't we? And I go, no, I'd remember. And he says he spends the next couple hours talking my ear off about Drake and Josh.

[Drake Bell]

No way.

[Josh Peck]

How much he loves it, how much it means to him. He's like literally going to like 7 year old Sergey being like, Sergey, you ever seen Drake and Josh? This is a show. This is a good show.

[Drake Bell]

Oh my God. And all I'm thinking is, oh, you.

[Josh Peck]

Must have been so hurt.

[Drake Bell]

Oh my gosh. Well, okay. So, well, I don't know, I'll keep our. I had an interesting encounter with him, but it was, you Know, it was whatever, but he was, you know, he's cool, but it was never with.

[Ben Soffer]

It was. I'm sure there's no more to that story.

[Drake Bell]

We got editors. Right.

[Josh Peck]

It's a good guy to talk.

[Drake Bell]

No, no, it was. No, I ran into him to it at a hotel one time, just randomly on the elevator. But that's the only time I ever actually, like, I've never met him or hung out with him. And you know what the, the bummer is? We probably would get along.

[Josh Peck]

Probably make good music.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, he's great, but anyway, that's. I never had a problem with Justin Bieber. It was just, I, I sometimes, you know, I just was, you know, it's like his fans. I was like, I was like. What did I like?

[Josh Peck]

They're passionate.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, it was wild.

[Josh Peck]

All right, so, Benjamin, tell me this, right. The other day you were at a sporting event. Did you use the 100x zoom on your Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra? Trick question. I know you did.

[Ben Soffer]

Of course I use my 100x zoom, because, Josh, here's the key, okay? We wait till the last minute, right? We're looking for perfect seats, right? We're not going to get perfect seats, though. We're. We're bargain hunting. We're looking for a great deal. But as a celebrity, as two celebrities, we want people to think, Josh, that we're sitting courtside, right? We want them to think we got the great seats. We don't want them to think that we're up in the three hundreds and we can't see bupkis. So what do we do, Josh? We hop on our Galaxy S25 Ultra from Samsung. We go to 100x zoom. I'm showing people, players, cabooses, like I'm sitting right in front of them. It's unbelievable.

[Josh Peck]

I, the other day, like King Yenta, I met my son's little league game, right? I'm using 100x zoom out there. We go home and I can chastise him and say, you think that's how you swing, son? Look at this. I got the. I used 100x zoom.

[Ben Soffer]

You must study, you must learn, you must come back, okay?

[Josh Peck]

And then I go, but let's go eat dinner now and have a celebratory dinner. By the way, here's a tablet from Samsung, which he loves. The kids, they love the tablets. Boom, boom, boom, boom. He's happy with his two year old brother. They got a little something to keep him busy while mom and I are sharing sweet potato fries and fighting over finances. By the way, I wanted to ask you, Ben, did you use the Buds 3 on your flight back from Tampa? The noise canceling feature? Because I know those planes, they're loud.

[Ben Soffer]

Of course I did. The guy next to me, he's like trying to ask me questions. Where are you from? Can't hear you buds 3. What do you want to eat? Oh, sorry, can't hear you buds 3.

[Josh Peck]

If you want to get your Galaxy S25 Ultra right now, go to samsung.com.

[Ben Soffer]

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[Gabby Wendy]

You guys, I'm Gabby Wendy, your host of Long Winded. You may or may not know me, emphasis on may not. But I did have 26 boyfriends not too long ago and true tragically lost Dancing with the Stars. And now I'm back with a more freeing and liberating platform than ever. Which, honestly, might make you sorry. Anyways, with all of this under my belt, naturally I do have some to say. In my very sweet soft voice and public school education, I'll discuss girly topics with a bit of cheek. Topics like gaslighting. Die for it. Internalized misogyny. One of my faves, honestly. And the depths of the dark dating world, I will beg you again and again to come and listen. But most of all, I hope you enjoy.

[Josh Peck]

So, Ben, going all the way back, you tee us up. What did you want to know about our.

[Ben Soffer]

Yes, I was going to say after your tangent back to you too. So what I wanted to know was just Drake sort of answered like you guys had your good Days, your bad days, you were kind of close. You weren't always close, but, like, from the viewer's perspective, it's like your brothers. So obviously you have to be best friends. So then once the show ends, the question on everybody's mind always is just like, what happened to your friendship? But maybe there wasn't like a deep enough. Like, maybe that wasn't necessarily a thing. Like, maybe you were just coworkers and once the project ended, it kind of ended. Or was there more to it? Like, what. What happened? What happened to the two of you?

[Josh Peck]

I can start. Well, I think from my experience. And you've talked about this. We've talked about this before I came on the Amanda show. We didn't get along at first, but 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 sitcoms and great television. And so once you realized that I was kind of funny and I liked people who liked funny, we were suddenly like, you know, inseparable.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And it felt like we, you know, had this bond and then Drake and Josh started. And I think what happened was. And we'll talk about it later, but, you know, watch the documentary and sort of what you were brave enough to share and to explain, which I could never have known at that age, was all the things you were going through and facing and because for the most part, it wasn't shared with me. I just. This separation started between us and I think I just assumed, like, it's interesting.

[Drake Bell]

Too, because as you were just saying that I'm like, It's like bringing back memories and stuff, and there's a lot of things that you're still realizing, like, as haven't figured it all out. But it's interesting, like, as we talk about our relationship, you know, from Drake and from. From Amanda show, you know, and I don't know if this is like, just. Cause, you know, we've made a lot of bad choices in our lives or if it's just. Or if it's just. Or if it's just trauma or if it's just from trauma, but I have a lot of trouble remembering a lot of things and things come back as people say things, and I'm like, oh, oh my gosh. I remember that. Like, you know, I was talking to. You remember Jill, my girlfriend? Jill?

[Josh Peck]

Yeah, your ex girlfriend.

[Drake Bell]

I was talking to her the other day and, you know, she had mentioned, like, she had, like, there's something that I do just for, like, like for comfort as an adult, and she mentioned something, and it, like, I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, that's why I do like that. Like, you know, so sometimes things come back. But as I was. What I was saying was from Amanda show, that was the time when we, like, we were hanging out and, like, going bowling and, like, staying at each other's places, and you come to my mom's house and, like, we do that. And then as that big break between Drake and Josh and Amanda show is when I told my mom what was going on, we went to the police. The investigation, all of the stuff that you saw in the documentary, that was when all of that was going on. And then when we shot the pilot, we were in the middle of the investigation, but nobody had known anything because Brian hadn't been arrested.

[Josh Peck]

Right.

[Drake Bell]

So I had to come back from where, like, the Amanda show, where the dude was. Where the abuse was happening.

[Josh Peck]

Yes.

[Drake Bell]

The worst part about it being that was my having, you know, having the monster in your own. In your safe place, you know, it's like that's. That's the only place I feel comfortable is when I get to set and hang out with you guys and we go goof around and put on our masks and wigs and makeup and, you know, make people laugh and slide around and get dirty. Like, that's where I feel safe. But it's like, it sucks. Cause it's like, shit that, like, you know.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah. Nowhere.

[Drake Bell]

Nowhere House isn't where I feel safe. You know, at home, I mean, I did. I mean, I didn't have, like, abusive parents or anything. You know, I had a difficult, you know, divorced parents, whatever. But still, where I felt most comfortable, where I was the happiest was when I was on set with you guys. And the worst part was every day I got there, there was. The monster was there, you know, and so that was the worst. So now there's this whole break. I go into the most insane. Just mental breaks and just everything that we're. The investigation. It's crazy, you know. And then we do the pilot because he hadn't been arrested when we did.

[Josh Peck]

The pilot, and we're like, 14.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah. And so now I'm coming back. He hasn't been arrested, and I don't know if you remember, but he came and visited during the pilot, and I got him and I made sure. And it was. That was an issue. But I still had to play like, oh, like, hey, cool, whatever. Like, you're about to get arrested, bro.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

And you don't even know. And he's like, walking around set like, da, da, da, da, da during the pilot. And so now I haven't really, like, vocalized this or thought about this really, but when you. I think talking about a relationship has triggered this, like, thought, he's like, now I'm entering the Drake and Josh phase, where we should be like, bro, like partners, like, this is our time. Like, let's do. Let's be in this together. Let's like, you know, this is just. This is just the first step. Like, first it's a show. Then we could do this and, like, been like, really, like our bonding. But I came back to the same stage.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

The same parking lot, the same dressing rooms, the same green room, the same makeup rooms. The same.

[Josh Peck]

It's like everything's triggering. Yes.

[Drake Bell]

So now, and in the back of my head, the whole time I'm working with the pilot, doing the pilot, I know that there's this investigation happening. I know that this guy's about to get arrested. I know that. I know that shit's about to hit the fan and nobody in here knows it.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

And I'm 14 or 15, and I'm like, got this whole production, this whole crew. He comes, he shows up one day, strolling on a set, walking around, everyone's talking, and I'm sitting there going, none of you have any idea what is in process right now and what's about to happen.

[Josh Peck]

And are you furious that here we are surrounded by all these adults, teachers, in theory, people that should have been protecting us, Protecting you, and that no one did that at that time.

[Drake Bell]

No, because at that time, my. I'm an adult, you know? You are. I'm. No, no, no. In my 14 year old head, I want to be. Not. Not I'm adult. That was a wrong way to say it. I want to be an adult. Right. I want to be seen as an adult. I want to be, you know, I'm an actor. Like, I want to be able to be sitting at the. I don't want to be at the kids table. Like, you know, just because I'm 14, 15, like, I'm an actor, I want to be with my peers and my da. And so I don't. You don't really notice it that much, but as you grow into an adult once, I mean, we're dads now. I think it's so illuminating. It's unbelievably illuminating to see, like, how now it's really confusing.

[Josh Peck]

Yes.

[Drake Bell]

Now it's very confusing. Well, to your point, to how there could be that Many people around and not do anything. Like, now that we have our kid, I'm like, what?

[Josh Peck]

It's beyond.

[Drake Bell]

It's just crazy.

[Josh Peck]

We'll talk about how many inappropriate things and just lack of protection there was when there should have been, especially a place that's inviting kids in.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And something I feel bad about is, like, you mentioned before, and we'll talk about. Until you sort of shared with me what was happening, I was just looking at it through the prism of a 14 year old's brain going like, ah, he doesn't want much to do with me. And thankfully, everyone who did know was galvanizing around you because God knows you needed the support and deserved every inch of it. I just, I didn't know any of this at 14. And in watching the documentary at 38, as a father, as a grownup, so much was revealed to me. And of what you had to go through, I can't even imagine that.

[Drake Bell]

And that was the bummer for me because if you remember, when we were on the Amanda show, I think it was your birthday or something, but I was spending the night at your house and it was the middle of the night and we were going to bed and we were just like, kind of like talking back and forth to each other. I was like, all right. And this was. We were on the Amanda show, like, we just started. You had just started, like, just started on the Amanda show, and we were already talking about, like, all right, so when it's our show, what's it gonna be like? And then we were talking about having Bobby Costanza.

[Ben Soffer]

Oh, yeah.

[Drake Bell]

Like, Bobby Costanza could be my dad. And then.

[Josh Peck]

Oh, yeah.

[Drake Bell]

And you could have. Oh, maybe I, maybe I, like, try to book your band, like, concerts, but I can only get you, like, to play at like a, a kid's birthday party. And then. And we're. And like, literally, I remember this like it was yesterday, but we're, we're like, literally like.

[Josh Peck]

And I'm like, and I'll be the heartthrob and you'll be the funny, chubby one. And you're like, josh, you're on drugs. And I'm like, not yet. Not yet.

[Drake Bell]

So, you know, and that's where I always was. And even when we were working on Amanda and we had that moment, it really hit me, you know, because when. I don't know if you were a fan of Amanda as well, but the Amanda show, when Josh first came on, he was a new player. So Amanda and I already had established characters, so we would be doing A blockbuster. And Josh would be the one that comes in and goes, hey, this isn't what I rented, and you guys are weird and blah, blah, blah. And then he would have another character. So our characters were like, separated, you know, it'd be like me and Amanda. And then he would be the kid that she puts the stuff all over her, you know? But we did this Tony pajamas sketch and we had to go in and tell her a bedtime story, but we were like basically, you know, 14 year old sopranos. Yeah. Danny DeVito. I mean, not Danny DeVito. Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro.

[Josh Peck]

Did you ever see that, Ben?

[Ben Soffer]

I haven't seen that sketch. No.

[Drake Bell]

You haven't seen that sketch?

[Josh Peck]

It's pretty good.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, man, I wonder. I think they have the bloopers on too. But that was the. That was the time we did that sketch, and that was the first time where we were actually working together.

[Josh Peck]

And I'm like. I'm like, it's consigliere. So Amanda's like, we're babysitting Amanda. And she goes, I want to hear a story. And I go, she wants to hear about a story.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, you want to hear a story? I got a story.

[Josh Peck]

All right.

[Drake Bell]

So you got this guy, right? He's driving his bike and he falls off and his kickstand goes right through his leg.

[Josh Peck]

Right through his leg.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah. There was blood and guts everywhere. Everywhere. She's like, e. Yeah, you're talking. And so she's like. And then she's like, I don't like this story.

[Josh Peck]

She don't like the story.

[Drake Bell]

I got ears.

[Josh Peck]

Hey, he's got ears.

[Drake Bell]

I smacked him in the back of the head.

[Josh Peck]

This is crazy.

[Ben Soffer]

Oh, my God.

[Drake Bell]

So good. You know the next line? I remember this.

[Josh Peck]

What was that for?

[Drake Bell]

For being an idiot.

[Josh Peck]

Okay, so.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, my God.

[Ben Soffer]

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[Drake Bell]

So that right there, when I smacked him in the back of the head, and he goes, what was that for? And I go, for being an idiot. He just goes, okay. And it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen in my life. Like, it just hit. It was so funny. So I break now, all right? I'm a kind of a Harvey Korman sometimes. All right? I'm not so much of a Jimmy Fallon, but, you know, I'll break sometimes. And so in this. You know, Josh don't like breaking sometimes. He gets frustrated.

[Ben Soffer]

He's like.

[Drake Bell]

He's like, dude, come on, man. Like, come on, man. Like, that was a good one. Like, dude, come on. And so I break. I'm like, sorry, sorry, sorry. All right, let's do it again. Let's do it again. I smack him in the back of the head. The hat flies off, okay? And I just die laughing again, you know? And then finally we get it together, and I hit him on the back of the head. What was that for? For being an idiot.

[Josh Peck]

Okay.

[Drake Bell]

And then everyone was laughing every. It was just like this. And I'm gonna be kind of, like, dramatic here, but it was like this moment where, you know, I grew up and, you know, I used to show you this stuff all the time. We used to watch this stuff. It was like Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. For some reason, I was always attracted to buddy comedies growing up. Even stuff like, you know, I would even call, like, Lucy and Ricky, you know, like Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Like, that's a buddy come. That's just what I. The type of comedy that I loved was the straight man, funny man. The setup, the put down, the boom, boom, boom. You know, just that I was always into that type of comedy. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, all that, you know? And it was like that moment where I went. And all I ever wanted was like. And I. You know, I didn't know. I always wanted to be, like Dean Martin, but I also wanted to be Jerry Lewis. I'm like, I want to make people laugh, but I also want to sing songs and, like, get the girl.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah. Be the crooner.

[Drake Bell]

And so I didn't know. I was like. Like, I always wanted. It was like, but who's gonna be like, my Jerry Lewis or who's gonna Be my guy. Like, I need. I need. I need somebody else. You know, I'm like, I'm doing this thing with Amanda. That's cool, you know, but like, no, I need, like, my partner.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

Like my. My Steve Martin and my John Candy. I need. I need the. You know.

[Josh Peck]

Why are they all chubby?

[Drake Bell]

Well, not all of them.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah, there was never a good looking dude. What about Martin and Sinatra?

[Drake Bell]

Well, there was some Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra stuff they were doing. But so it was that moment where I was like, holy. I just got like, this could be something. This could be. This could be my thing. And it's a bummer because then we started doing so much more stuff together. Like, one of my favorites is when we played the Boy Scouts and they didn't give us anything a lot. Like, they would just be like, we would just go into hair and makeup and they would just throw some wig on us and give us a script and didn't tell us what the character was or what it was. So we just kind of had to make it up, but on the fly. And it was the one where it was like, you know. You know, he snores. I'm sorry. You know, it was the. And we're playing the Boy Scouts, and so we're doing more and more and more and stuff like that. And I'm getting so excited. Cause I'm like, just living this dream of, like, I'm doing the thing that I've always wanted to do, and I've got my partner to do it with in this whole thing. And then when the show ended, then it went into all of that darkness, all that stuff. And I had to come back to working with my partner with going, oh, I've got all this stuff that nobody knows about that's going on. Oh, is this gonna hurt our show? Is this gonna. When this drops, is Josh gonna look at me and be like, bro, you took our dream away. Like, you took my dream. Like, everything. Like, are we gonna lose our show? Are we gonna lose. Is Nickelodeon gonna just like, be like, well, this is done. Like, what? Like, there was. All of that was. Dude, I was losing my hair. Like, I had these giant, like, scabs on my head. I was losing my hair. I had no idea why. And I went to the doctor, and the doctor was checking everything. He's like, yeah, you know, there's. Everything's normal, but how's your stress lately? I was like, well, it's actually really high. He goes, well, that's what this is. All this is from stress. I was like. And I mean I couldn't. I mean I must have been. Cause these were like golf ball size like scabs where I'm losing weight and then I'm like, I gotta go back, I gotta go shoot. I gotta go be on this set like soon.

[Josh Peck]

And even the circumstance of a kid actor in show business under the most perfect circumstance is probably too much pressure for one to handle at that age.

[Drake Bell]

Oh yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And knowing what you were facing and having to go through and not able to share. And I remember, I know, you know, we had lunch last weekend to kind of like just catch up and talk about how we wanted to do the pod. And I shared this with you. I remember. So we had this year or two where we just kind of. We were both there, but we weren't really there. And then it felt like something had turned around. And maybe, and you can please tell me, I don't wanna speak for you. Maybe you knew that it was like finally Brian was gonna go to jail and get arrested. And so we start to like, our friendship starts coming back. And maybe it was your 16th birthday, but I remember you invited me down to your parents house in Orange county and so your stepdad Roy, shout out. Roy drove me.

[Drake Bell]

Jill was there. Right. Joe was there his 16th birthday and.

[Josh Peck]

Roy drove me down cause I didn't have a license. And we went to Christian comedy. It was great.

[Drake Bell]

It was actually funny. I remember being so terrified. My mom, my sweet mother, she's such.

[Josh Peck]

A good churchgoing lady. God bless you.

[Drake Bell]

She's like, Josh loves comedy and stand up comedy. There's this thing going on at the church with comedy, he'll love it. And I was just like, not that kind of comedy, mom. Not that kind of the deal with the apostles. But I gotta say, one of the best Drake and Josh memes is Drake. Where's the body of Christ? Yes, that's a great one.

[Josh Peck]

So good.

[Drake Bell]

But anyway, so we go to Christian comedy. Just an example of how Christian comedy can be funny. Because that meme is hilarious. But so anyway, it was funny. But anyway, well, sorry, I'm defending Christian comedy. I have no, I have no, no skin in the game for Christian comedy. I just felt the need to defend J.

[Josh Peck]

Bell defends Christian comedy.

[Drake Bell]

By the way, Margazi, if there's one.

[Ben Soffer]

Show where you don't need to defend Christian comedy, this is, I don't know if you know, you're on the most Jewish podcast in America. So we're good.

[Josh Peck]

We get call ins for the show that we play. We'll Play at the end of the show, and it'll be like, hi, I'm your only non Jewish listener.

[Drake Bell]

Oh, my God.

[Josh Peck]

Anyway, I remember we have this wonderful Christian comedy night, and. And we have your mom's famous enchiladas, I believe.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Excellent.

[Drake Bell]

Love.

[Josh Peck]

Why do you say it like that? They were.

[Drake Bell]

Because. No, because, you know, they weren't good.

[Josh Peck]

No, they were bomb. I love them.

[Drake Bell]

So my mom. My mom grew up very poor, okay? So she learned everything. She learned about cooking. About everything. She was extremely poor, so that's all she knows how to cook.

[Josh Peck]

But by the way, some of the best food. Food.

[Drake Bell]

My mom. Yeah, but my. All right, maybe it's not because she's just poor.

[Josh Peck]

She's just a bad kid. We're cutting that out.

[Drake Bell]

Thank God she married Roy.

[Josh Peck]

I'm not. I will not. I will not eat your enchilada.

[Drake Bell]

Chicken enchilada casserole. It's chicken enchilada casserole. I loved it growing up because I had no culture, and I grew up in that house, and that was all I've eaten. And that's all I knew. It was that and Cinnamon toast crunch. So it was delicious. Now, as an adult, I apologize that I subjected you to that. No, I remember your face. I could read your thoughts, and I just, you know, want to apologize.

[Ben Soffer]

I can't imagine Josh was unhappy with a chicken enchilada at that time. I don't believe it.

[Drake Bell]

No, there is.

[Josh Peck]

You know, big people are not a monolith, Ben.

[Drake Bell]

Okay?

[Josh Peck]

We're not one thing.

[Ben Soffer]

Yes, they are.

[Drake Bell]

Yes. But, yeah, you. You brought this up to me at lunch, and I totally forgotten about it. But that was.

[Josh Peck]

Well, I remember I had had a feeling. Cause Brian, who was ever present during the Amanda show, and then.

[Drake Bell]

Well, that's another thing, too. You can kind of like. It was, like, ever present. Right. Like, just everywhere. That. Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Which is kind of the story for people like that. And then he was gone. And I didn't know anything. Except I had a. Like, I had a feeling. Something. Something happened. And I remember we're in the car. It was you, me and Jill. And I said, still talk to Brian. And you just looked at me like, no, Brian's a really bad guy. And I remember thinking, gotcha. And it was all that I needed to know. And I didn't know anything more than that. But I was like, that's clear. Yeah, gotcha.

[Drake Bell]

And I wasn't talking to people like that. Like, I think because we were. We were so close that I was like, you're one of the cats that I'm not gonna maybe divulge, but you need to know now, that's not a good person.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah. And I remember, I think it was months after this, I got a text from someone who worked on the show saying, Brian's arrested.

[Ben Soffer]

Wow.

[Josh Peck]

He's going to jail. And I think through my simple teenager mind, I just thought, oh, thank God. Like, thank God he's going to jail. Good. And it's only in watching the doc that I can realize that just him being put to justice, which thank God he was and deserved and deserved to go longer. But what about you? What about the trauma you endured? It's so much deeper, it's so much more unacceptable than all that. It's not this clean. Well, he went to jail, so everyone's all better now.

[Drake Bell]

And you know, it was hard, I think during that time because when we went to court, the entire side of his courtroom was full of people who I thought were my friends and people who I looked up to, people whose careers I would like mine to be one day. And I'm like on the side with like Robert and Roy. And I think it was me and my mom. I think Michael might have been there. It's hard to see my. That sort of, the memories like kind of get fuzzy. Yeah, I think Michael was there, but that, man, I had a good point here. But anyway, seeing the that side of the courtroom was like, okay, so is it just because we think it's wrong? And I mean it got to be this whole thing of like, wait, but no, like he's the bad guy. You should be over here. Wait, are we the. Like, it was almost like when I got in my car accident. I was in a left hand turn lane, getting to make, going to make a left, sitting on my brake at a red light. Guy fell asleep, crossed the lane, hit me head on. But immediately I get out of the car and I'm thinking, you know, I'm a 19 year old kid, this has gotta be my fault. I must have been somewhere. I must have thought that was a left hand turn lane. I must have been in the wrong place. I must have been like this. Yeah, this has to be my fault, you know, Cause obviously this adult that's driving this giant Mercedes didn't just fall asleep and, and go across lanes and hit me. It's gotta be my fault. And so it kind of like apply that to like when you see that courtroom like that, right?

[Josh Peck]

Yes.

[Drake Bell]

You're like, oh, well, I must have done something wrong. And this must Just be some process that, like, has to happen because, like, you know, you broke the law and this is bad, but in the reality and in the culture and in this town, yes, like, you're all good, bro. Cause, look, and then there's 41 letters, and then who knows who, you know? Like, we were talking at lunch. It's like, how many people were like, bro, I'm not putting pen to paper. No, no, they're gonna be sealed. Yeah, I'm sure. And then in 20 years, when somebody makes a documentary and unseals them, my name's gonna be out there. No, sir. But I'll take you to dinner. And anything you ever need, man, I'm in your corner. How many of those were there that didn't write the letter? You know, so it's like, if there's people who wrote that. So then it just becomes this onion of, like, where through this whole time, I thought, like, okay, well, there's this bad person in Hollywood, and watch out for them. But you can find them everywhere, you know? And don't watch out when your kids are in soccer practice. Watch out when you're in your, you know, in your office building.

[Josh Peck]

Whatever.

[Drake Bell]

Anything. But it became. Oh, wait, it's not just the. There's, like, the protectors and then the people who, like, are down to just, like. I don't know. It's just this whole. It became this whole. Like, I was on the blacklist, and there was a cabal, and I was like, Raymond Reddington, ready to just, like, take everyone out. Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

I mean, you talked about this in the doc, but for you to find these 41 letters that they discovered of people who were sort of writing. Basically, they were character witnesses of Bryan's. Right. Like, defending him.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

And you and I talked and. Feel free, if you don't want to talk about it, of just, like, how shattering that was.

[Drake Bell]

Well, I read you. I read you one of them. I mean, you could give.

[Josh Peck]

It's fucking bonkers.

[Drake Bell]

I mean, you could give the audience a taste of what. I mean. I mean, from what. That. Just that one letter. I mean, I just.

[Josh Peck]

It was. It's absolutely insane. And unfortunately, what was allowed. What was the group think at this time that any of this could have been allowed in any respect? And at 14, I remember going, this relationship's inappropriate.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, but assuming. Well, remember. Remember my birthday at his house?

[Josh Peck]

I don't. So I remember that, but I'm not sure I was there.

[Drake Bell]

No, you were there, or I think.

[Josh Peck]

I left quite early.

[Drake Bell]

You probably did. You probably left early, but it was weird, bro. Yeah, it was strange. Like, you know, I was just in it and. And. And, you know, like, for me, like, you guys were there, and Michael. Yeah. And the people from the show and the grill, you know, like, just camera guy. Like, it was just like. It was like. It was like if we were having the birthday on set, it was like those people, you know, so there was, like sort of this, like, it's not that strange, but. Yeah, just looking back, it was just all like, how is this? How is this? How is nobody seeing, like, what the intentions are here?

[Josh Peck]

It's just wild and I think so much, too. And Olivia and Ben, please, you know, pipe in here. Like, I think up until the last 10 years with the MeToo movement and so many of these, like, villainous characters being brought to justice. Like, this behavior is unacceptable. But, you know, you saw the extremes of it. But then there were so many, like, micro infractions. There were so many things that you would see on set in a day and just go, like, I don't know if that'd be cool anywhere else but here. And so when you had tyrannical bosses or just people acting inappropriately, I think the assumption was in Hollywood, like, this was just kind of part of it.

[Drake Bell]

And a lot also, I think that, you know, it's like when you're. It's like when you're hanging out with your older brothers and, you know, they're talking about the girls and they're talking about this. Like, you're like, yeah, I'm gonna join in and talk. Cause you want to be part. And we have that same feeling when we're our age on a set.

[Ben Soffer]

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[Josh Peck]

I want to hear from Ben and Olivia. Like what, what was your guys view of show business at that time? And, and before the doc came out? Just like what did you guys think?

[Ben Soffer]

The documentary was completely eye opening for me because I had no idea. Like you're watching it and you're just like, oh, these are actors 1000%. Like I would watch the two of you and it wouldn't even click in my brain that we're the same age. But I'm a kid at home and you're a kid on set. Like it never ever at all clicked until I watched the documentary and learned about what it's like. Like Drake, as you mentioned, like this idea that, that you're not an adult but you're being treated like an adult and you're with adults and you're subjected to like Josh and I have talked about it a little bit. Like just, just like the, the homeschooling of it all and then having to be on set and never being able to take days off and just like again I'm at home and I'm eating a pudding and I'm watching Drake and Josh with my dad and you guys are like working. It's just, it's mind blowing. I can't even wrap my head around.

[Olivia]

I grew up watching the show too and was a huge fan. My grandpa and I would watch it every day after school and I always wanted like it just seemed to like another child. Like it was so much fun. And, like, it was so. I was, like, envious. Like, I wanted to be there, you know, and, like, be on set and have all of these, like, you know, it seemed like you were all friends and, like, you're working with a bunch of kids your own age, and, like, there's not as much supervision and that kind of thing. So it was like, almost like. I think the networks as a whole, like, sold this dream of, like, what being, like, a Nick kid or a Disney kid would be like. But, like, you. You know, to all of your points, like, you're so young, and the reality was just, like. So the opposite of what, like, I perceived it to be at the time, you know.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Olivia]

And so I just, like. I mean, one. My heart goes out. Cause, like, I can't imagine, like, losing those formative years or, you know, like, being given such responsibility and pressure at that age when you are just beginning to figure out bits and pieces of who you are and how you interact with other people. And it just seems like the marketing of it all was a lie.

[Josh Peck]

Well, it's a really interesting point Olivia brings up, and I'd love to hear your thought. Cause both things can be true.

[Drake Bell]

Right.

[Josh Peck]

And so then we finish, and you know what the show means to everyone. You know, that the moments that were great were great, 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 just an experience for a kid, that was unacceptable in so many ways. And you go. You wrestle with this idea of, like. I remember people would ask me about the show or something, and I would say, Well, I lost £100 and had to get sober at 21. Did I seem happy?

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Josh Peck]

It's sort of. It's a bit of a side you did, but you also go, like, how much do I just keep this to myself and allow this wonderful memory for the people to just continue to exist?

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Did you wrestle with that?

[Drake Bell]

Yeah, I mean, definitely, because, you know, I have a big. I'm a big fan, and I. When I meet somebody that I'm a fan of, I've had both experiences. Yeah, I've had the. Get away from me, kid. You're bothering me. And then I've had, you know. Oh, cool. Yeah. You know, like, when I met Dick Van Dyke, you know, I, like, run up to him and because he's, like, leaving this appearance, and I just ran up to him and I was like, dick, Dick. I just. Hi, my name's Drake, I'm a big fan. I just want to tell you. Dick Van Dyke shows, my favorite show of all time growing up. Favorite show of all time. He stopped, turned around. He goes, oh, you like the big. You fan of the show? And I'm like, yeah, it was my favorite. One of my favorite shows of all time. I mean, like, you're. Yeah, like, he goes, you know why that show was great? Carl Reiner. Carl's writing, you know? And I'm like. I mean, there's a group of. He's like. He was at some hotel, like, leaving the state. Like, I could have been anybody, but he stopped and had that moment with me and that. I was like.

[Josh Peck]

Cause he's used to his fans being 50.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ben Soffer]

He's like, what?

[Josh Peck]

You like me? He's like, I haven't gotten this much love since the last ARP convention.

[Drake Bell]

But so I've had that. So I did have that, like, reservation of is this gonna, like, you know, because I had a lot of people reaching out, like, you know, oh, don't worry, Drake. We'll never watch the show ever again.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

You know, like, oh, now watching the show, it's so hard to know what you were going through while you were making this, like. And I'm like, whoa, whoa. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, dude, when light's camera action, and I walk in and Josh is wearing a dress, that's what I'm.

[Josh Peck]

Were we ahead of the times?

[Drake Bell]

But that was where I actually was comfortable and happy and stoked, and I'm very proud of what we did. And, you know, I loved the show, and I was showing a friend of mine who had never seen the show, and it was like, one of the, like, what you've never seen. I was like, I'm gonna show. Let me just show you a couple episodes. And I watched, like, Paging the Doctor episode. Running over Oprah.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah.

[Drake Bell]

And I think one other one.

[Ben Soffer]

So good.

[Drake Bell]

It was in that third, fourth season where I hadn't watched the show for a while, and I was watching this show, and I was like, this is, like, science. I was like, this is really. I'm like, our timing. I'm like, there was, like, some things that you had said, like, in the bed in the hospital room. And it wasn't even a joke. Like, it was just a response, like, to set me up. It was just to get the scene to the next point, you know, and it wasn't even a joke, but, like, you said it, and it was, like, a huge laugh. And I'm like, cracking up, and I'm like. Like, I'm like, that's what. That's the magic that, like, people don't get. It's like, oh, just put these two. Put. Put two guys together, and they'll be funny or whatever. And it was like those. Wow, am I getting. Am I tearing up right now?

[Josh Peck]

I know. I am, too, kind of, but it's.

[Drake Bell]

Like, that's the kind of things where, like, it would be like. Like, like, whoa, just take it easy, man. Right? Like, that's not a joke in the script. You know, we just picked up on these little things, and we would do these little things, you know, that were, like. It just made us. Us and, like, made. I don't know. It just gave it that special thing, you know?

[Josh Peck]

No, it was very special. And it was. You can't recreate it. And I. You know, and looking back in hindsight to sort of close the loop on the question Ben asked 40 minutes ago. But he set us up beautifully for this great talk, which I'm so glad I remember my wife's close friend, good family friend Libby, she said. I told her we were gonna do this, and she's like, oh, my God. She's like. And who cares if you even air it?

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

Like, at least you guys are really talking it out.

[Drake Bell]

Yeah.

[Josh Peck]

You know, and that's.

[Drake Bell]

I was talking to Janet the same thing, and she was like. She's like, you know, it's just all the people who know us, you know, it's like, it's so really cool to just, like, get. Because at lunch, we were talking about it, too, and I. It was funny because it was a short lunch. It was. He had to. 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 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. I'm like, no, no, it was so funny. I'm like. I'm like. I'm like, no, no, don't text him. He'll. That'll bother him. Like, wait till he texts you. Yeah, come on. I was like, wait till he texts you. Like, don't look, like, too excited.

[Josh Peck]

I. Ben, you've had that with me too, right? You know. You know, you like to play hard to get.

[Ben Soffer]

It's so funny. It's like an ex girlfriend, but an.

[Drake Bell]

Ex girlfriend that you, like. Like, you, like, really want to get back.

[Josh Peck]

Yeah. Oh, man.

[Drake Bell]

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.