Drake Bell Reveals The Surprising Truth About Drake & Josh Residuals

A former star of Drake & Josh is finally revealing how little they were actually paid for one of Nickelodeon's greatest sitcoms. Even after attending the beloved show for four seasons alongside Josh Peck, Bell admitted that he has yet to receive any residual payment.

On the July 2 episode of the Unplanned podcast, Bell, 39, shattered the myth that childhood TV stardom equals a lifetime of riches. "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're rich," he explained. "And that's far from the case." Residuals, the payments actors usually receive when a show they're in airs or streams, are next to none for him and many of his Nickelodeon brothers and sisters, the actor said. In fact, he says it's guest stars, not leads, who are often paid more in rerun profits. "There's people who said two lines on one episode that still get checks in the mail," Bell said. "Josh and I, not a dime."

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This eye-popping confession serves as a reality check in the streaming age, where classic shows periodically find new audiences but both the original stars and the networks that broadcast those shows see minimal financial benefit. The blackout has been particularly maddening for Bell, who is perhaps the most high-profile figure since the guitar-strumming goofball he played opposite Peck's straight-man has become part of the common vernacular. It's a dispute that highlights larger issues involving legacy contracts and fair compensation for creatives, especially in the world of children's television, where series like Drake & Josh amassed empires for networks but not futures for the stars who powered them.

Despite many fans presuming that the success of Drake & Josh would have ensured its stars a comfortable financial legacy, Bell's comments highlight how on-screen fame doesn't necessarily equate to off-screen fortune. Instead, it is another stark illustration of how the business of movies and television can leave its leading names with shockingly scant compensation. The only thing Drake Bell is using as currency for the theatre of his childhood Nickelodeon stardom is the truth.