Drake & Josh

The series revolves around two teenage stepbrothers, Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, who live in San Diego, California with Drake's younger biological sister Megan and biological mother Audrey, and Josh's biological father Walter. Drake is cool and popular, having his own band and being a ladies' man, yet can be narcissistic and absent-minded, while Josh is an intellectual, clumsy and awkward; yet very loving and caring. Josh ends up working at a local movie theater called The Premiere in the second season of the show, which ends up being a key set location. The two boys are often involved in comedic escapades and challenges while also handling various teenage problems.

Drake Bell and Josh Peck had previously acted together on The Amanda Show, created by Dan Schneider.[3] Bell and Peck's differing personalities inspired Schneider to create a new show starring them as characters with traits similar to their own.[4] An unaired pilot episode featured Stephen Furst as Walter Nichols, although he was busy with another project when Drake & Josh was picked up as a series, and Jonathan Goldstein was cast in the role instead.[5][6] A house in Los Angeles' Encino neighborhood was used for exterior shots of the family's home,[7][8][9] while interior scenes were shot on a sound stage at the Nickelodeon on Sunset studios in Hollywood.[10] As of January 2005, Tribune Studios in Hollywood was also used as a filming location.[11]

Production was suspended in late December 2005, after Bell's injury in a car crash,[12][13] prior to which he had filmed three episodes of the fourth season.[12] Filming resumed in March 2006.[14][15] The following month, Nickelodeon greenlit an additional seven episodes for the fourth season, and Bell and Peck also signed on to direct several episodes.[16][15] With the extended season, filming was now expected to continue through July 2006.[15] According to Schneider, the show ended due to a collective decision from the creative forces behind the show.[17]

The profession of the family's mother and her name are never revealed on the show, although Schneider had written dialogue into the series finale that would have revealed her name as Audrey and her profession as a catering business. The scene was filmed, but Schneider ultimately chose to remove it during editing. Schneider said, "On the one hand, I thought it was funny to finally reveal it, so casually, in the very last episode – there was something ironic about that. But then I decided that, because fans always seemed to have fun trying to figure it out (what 'Mom's' name and job were), it would be better to 'keep the bit going' for eternity, by never revealing it in any episode."[2]

The series premiere was watched by 3.2 million viewers,[20] Nickelodeon's highest-rated series premiere in nearly 10 years.[21] As of 2006, Drake & Josh ranked consistently among the 10 most-watched cable shows of the week,[12] and was the top-rated live-action series among children aged 2 to 11 years old.[21] It averaged three million viewers at the time.[16] It proved to be popular with younger viewers.[22] According to Schneider, Drake & Josh had its highest ratings in its final season.[17]

The series received two television films. Drake & Josh Go Hollywood premiered on January 6, 2006. In the film, Drake and Josh are left at home in San Diego after their parents go on a ten-day cruise. The boys are told to take Megan to the airport so she can visit her friend in Denver, but they accidentally send her on a flight to Los Angeles. Drake and Josh go to Hollywood to get Megan back, but end up stopping a multibillion-dollar heist and booking a guest-spot for Drake on TRL. According to TV Guide, it was the highest-rated program on all of cable during its opening week.

Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh premiered on December 5, 2008. Michael Grossman directed the film, and Schneider returned as executive producer. In the film, Drake and Josh try to give a foster family "the best Christmas ever".[41] The premiere of Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh broke the record of most viewers for the premiere of a Nickelodeon film with 9.10 million viewers, a title previously held by iGo to Japan.

In March 2019, Bell announced that he and Peck were working on a Drake & Josh revival that would feature both of them reprising their roles.[46] The proposed project would have featured similar characters and scenarios in a more adult, comedic way.[47] At the time, Bell and Peck were in discussions with several networks about the project.[48] However, in October 2021, it was reported that the revival had been cancelled, as a result of production delays and Bell's guilty plea to charges of attempted child endangerment.[49]

In March 2022, Bell and his wife Janet stated that the reboot show they had pitched would be called Josh & Drake. Ultimately, the idea was shelved due to creative differences. The show's script was said to have been written by Peck. Janet stated, "Josh wrote Drake as a failed musician and Josh wrote himself as a real estate agent. OK, that's fine, but Drake is a musician in real life, so it wouldn't make sense." Bell added, "I just asked him to change a couple things and he couldn't and my wife wouldn't let me do it."[50]

On March 18 2022, Josh Peck reveals why he's not friends with Drake Bell anymore: 'We weren't that close' "I want to like the guy that my name is attached to forever, but unfortunately, it just sorts of worked out the way that it did," [51]

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• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived November 25, 2018)
• Drake & Josh at IMDb