Dan Schneider

Schneider in 1982

In the 1980s, Schneider appeared in several films including Making the Grade, Better Off Dead, The Big Picture, Happy Together and Hot Resort. In 1986, he played Dennis Blunden on the ABC television sitcom Head of the Class. The series ran for five seasons from 1986 to 1991. In 1993, he starred in the series Home Free, and in 1994, he played Shawn Eckhardt in Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story, one of two made-for-television films about the Tonya Harding–Nancy Kerrigan scandal. He has made cameo appearances in TV series that he has helped to create and/or produce: All That (and its subsequent film Good Burger), Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, iCarly, and Henry Danger.[5][6] Schneider also does voice overs in many projects.

Schneider co-hosted the 1988 Kids' Choice Awards, where he met Nickelodeon development executive Albie Hecht.[7] In 1993, Hecht, now head of production for the network, hired Schneider to work on a new sketch-comedy show for children called All That. After writing the pilot episode, Schneider worked as producer, executive producer, and writer on the show. Schneider quit All That after the first four seasons to run The Amanda Show.[8][9] The show's ratings soon declined, and it was cancelled in the 2000–2001 season. Nickelodeon then asked Schneider to come back and revamp All That in 2001. Schneider agreed, and All That returned to Nickelodeon in 2002. It ran for another four seasons until 2005, bringing All That to the end of its 10-season run.

From 1996 to 1997, Schneider was an executive producer and a writer for Kenan & Kel. Schneider guest-starred in an episode and was an executive producer during the first two seasons. He continued working as a consultant for the remainder of the series. He wrote the 1997 film Good Burger, starring Kenan and Kel and featuring Schneider himself in a supporting role. The film was spun off from a popular All That sketch produced by Schneider.

Schneider (left) on the set of iCarly in 2011

In 1998, he began his career as a show creator with Guys Like Us. The series is one of only two series Schneider created that was produced for broadcast network television. The show was cancelled after its first season due to low ratings and poor reviews. The next two shows created by Schneider starred Amanda Bynes, who had worked with Schneider on All That. The Amanda Show ran from 1999 until 2002 on Nickelodeon and was a spin-off from All That. Schneider himself often appeared on The Amanda Show as a frustrated old man who was frequently the victim of strange prank phone calls. Schneider co-created What I Like About You with former Friends writer/producer Wil Calhoun. It premiered in 2002 on The WB and ran until 2006. Schneider was an executive producer during the show's first two seasons. He also wrote and co-produced the 2002 film Big Fat Liar which earned a total of $52.4 million at the worldwide box office.[10]

Schneider returned to Nickelodeon in 2004 with the show Drake & Josh. The series starred Drake Bell and Josh Peck, who were actors on The Amanda Show, and Miranda Cosgrove, who would later star in another of Schneider's shows, iCarly. Overlapping both Drake & Josh and iCarly, Schneider created the show Zoey 101, which starred Jamie Lynn Spears. Zoey 101 was Schneider's first and to date only single-camera format program and the first to be presented in a letterboxed format. Schneider also guest-starred in the Zoey 101 series finale "Chasing Zoey", playing a cab driver. After the show was cancelled in 2008, Schneider began working on a new project for one of the actresses, Victoria Justice. That show, Victorious, premiered in 2010 after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards. A dual-show spin-off of both iCarly and Victorious called Sam & Cat premiered in 2013.[11] It was cancelled after 36 episodes. On March 9, 2010, it was announced that Schneider himself would sign a deal with Nickelodeon.[12]

Following the cancellation of Sam & Cat, Schneider co-created Henry Danger with Dana Olsen.[13] The show premiered in 2014. The following year, Schneider created Game Shakers, which reunited him with actor and Nickelodeon veteran Kel Mitchell. Schneider also served as executive producer.

On March 26, 2018, Nickelodeon announced that it would not be extending its production deal with Schneider and his company Schneider's Bakery.[14] In addition, the network also announced that his comedy Game Shakers would not be renewed for a fourth season.[15] His remaining Nickelodeon comedy Henry Danger would be receiving a fifth season and a new showrunner.[9]

After a three-year hiatus, Schneider announced that he had several new projects in development; The New York Times commented that he seemed "set on returning to television and reintroducing his brand of comedy to new audiences".[16] In a June 2021 interview, he described an "ambitious and very different" television pilot that he had written and sold to a different network. Schneider said that this proposed show is aimed at more of an adult audience than his previous work.[16]