Jennie Garth Says Dan Schneider Gave Her Bad Vibes on the What I Like About You Set
Jennie Garth opens up about working with disgraced producer Dan Schneider on What I Like About You, recalling how Friends executive Will Calhoun recruited her to join Amanda Bynes on the sitcom — and what the experience was really like.
Jennie Garth just opened up about what it was like working with Dan Schneider on the WB sitcom 'What I Like About You' — and she did not sugarcoat it.
How the show came together
On the April 13 episode of Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert,' Garth said she was first brought in by Will Calhoun — a Friends alum she describes as one of the head executives there — who was putting together a new show with Amanda Bynes. Schneider, who had been closely tied to Bynes from her Nickelodeon days ('All That,' 'The Amanda Show'), was the other producer. Calhoun and Schneider cocreated 'What I Like About You,' which ran on The WB from 2002 to 2006, with Garth and Bynes playing sisters.
The Schneider of it all
When Shepard asked if she got bad vibes from Schneider (who has faced a wave of accusations about toxic on-set behavior and inappropriate conduct with young actors ), Garth said yes — strongly enough that she set a boundary early.
'I told Will, I would rather just communicate solely with you. I trust you. I think you have my best interests in mind and I don’t feel that way with your partner. So I’d rather just be with you. And he was like, No problem.'
That is... not subtle. For context: after the 2024 Vice TV docuseries 'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV' reignited scrutiny, Schneider issued a public apology for his actions. The producers named in related litigation fought the allegations at first, but in November 2024 a judge allowed the lawsuit to move forward.
Where Amanda Bynes fits in
A quick but important note: while several former Nickelodeon stars — including Jennette McCurdy, Alexa Nikolas, and Lori Beth Denberg — have made allegations about Schneider, Bynes has not publicly accused him of misconduct. In 2024, she shot down an internet rumor that Schneider got her pregnant at 13 as 'ridiculous' and 'clickbait.'
Monica Padman, Shepard's cohost, pressed Garth on whether she saw Bynes being 'destroyed' by Schneider. Garth didn’t pin it on him directly, saying she didn’t see that specifically and that there were a lot of other issues orbiting Bynes at the time.
Garth and Bynes on set
Garth remembered the pilot vividly: she had just turned 30; Bynes had just turned 16. Garth said she didn’t know how to be around a teenager at first, and that Bynes actually taught her a lot. Their dynamic onscreen clicked fast, even if the production politics clearly didn’t.
Where Bynes is now
Bynes has been open about years of mental health and substance struggles, including arrests for DUI and marijuana possession, and she was under a conservatorship from 2013 to 2022. She’s stepped back from acting, but recently pivoted to music, dropping a rap/EDM single called 'Girlfriend' on April 10.
- Show basics: 'What I Like About You' aired on The WB from 2002–2006; cocreated by Will Calhoun and Dan Schneider; starred Jennie Garth and Amanda Bynes as sisters.
- Schneider background: worked with Bynes on Nickelodeon hits 'All That' and 'The Amanda Show.'
- Allegations timeline: 2024's Vice TV docuseries 'Quiet on Set' put fresh attention on Schneider; he issued an apology afterward; in November 2024, a judge allowed a related lawsuit to proceed.
- Bynes today: no public allegations against Schneider; debunked a 2024 rumor as 'ridiculous' and 'clickbait'; released 'Girlfriend' on April 10.