Former Nickelodeon child star Josh Peck has revealed his surprisingly low salary from four years working on one of the network’s biggest-ever shows.
Peck, 39, shot to fame as Josh Nichols in Drake & Josh, which ran for four seasons from 2004-2007, starring alongside Drake Bell, 39.
He has since claimed the two lead stars do not receive residuals from the show – which was a spin-off from sketch series, The Amanda Show with Amanda Bynes.
Appearing on the June 25 episode of the Financial Tea with Mrs. Dow Jones podcast, Peck said, ‘We started out making $3,000 an episode on The Amanda Show.
‘And then by the time we finished Drake & Josh, so that was 60 episodes total for the whole show. The median rate, the average rate per episode was about $15,000. So over four years, we wound up making about 900 grand.’
He added that he did not take home the entire amount, saying, ‘We probably, between agent, manager and taxes, we cleared half of that.
Former Nickelodeon child star Josh Peck has revealed his surprisingly low salary from four years working on one of the network’s biggest-ever shows – pictured February 2026
Peck, 39, shot to fame as Josh Nichols in Drake & Josh, which ran for four seasons from 2004-2007, starring alongside Drake Bell, 39 – pictured 2004
‘We were making about $125,000 a year. And people always will say, “Well, compared to so many other tougher jobs, like who are you to say anything?” And I go, “I’m not,”
‘The only reason I say it is because people always assume that it’s so much more and why would you ever have to work again? But of course, if you made the salary of a dentist or something like that, you couldn’t just stop working after four years.
‘If you have it ingrained in you that you never want to be broke again, you will run like your pants are on fire for as long as you can and I have.
‘And I saw that in myself forever, just a deep financial insecurity that drove everything I did.’
In the original, created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon, Bell and Peck played odd-couple-like stepbrothers Drake Parker (Bell) and Josh Nichols (Peck).
Drake & Josh was a ratings success, garnering 3.2 million viewers for its premiere episode, which seemed to set the tone as a show consistently ranked among the most watched series in its demographic.
Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein starred as Drake’s mother and Josh’s father, respectively, while Miranda Cosgrove portrayed Drake’s devious younger sister.
A television special, Really Big Shrimp, served as the series finale in September 2007, marking 56 episodes in four seasons for the show.
The two child stars played odd-couple-like stepbrothers during the four season run that also starred Miranda Cosgrove, Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein
He said: ‘The median rate, the average rate per episode was about $15,000. So over four years, we wound up making about 900 grand’ – adding ‘We probably, between agent, manager and taxes, we cleared half of that’
After the finale, the network ended up airing a one-time special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh in 2008.
Along with Bell, Peck, and the rest of the main cast, there were also a staple of recurring roles such as Yvette Nicole Brown, Jerry Trainor, Allison Scagliotti, Alec Medlock, Scott Halberstadt, Jake Farrow, Julia Duffy, Roark Critchlow, Cathy Shim, and Johnny Lewis.
This comes two years after Peck faced criticism for not speaking out publicly when his former co-star Bell revealed he was sexually abused as a teenager, a story detailed in the 2024 docuseries Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
Bell revealed he was the unidentified minor who came forward in 2003 about being molested at age 15 by dialogue coach Brian Peck (no relation to Josh).
Bell detailed the abuse he suffered in Quiet On Set , a five-part documentary that detailed some of the toxic behind-the-scenes world of children’s television programs from the 1990s to the 2000s.
Bell accused dialogue coach Brian Peck of sexual abuse, for wich he plead no contest and served 16 months in prison, while also having to register as a sex offender; the two actors reprised their roles one-time special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh, alongside Henry Winkler
Brian Peck is pictured in April 2012
In the third episode, Bell reveals he was sexually abused by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.
Dialogue coach Brian Peck ended up pleading no contest to the abuse charges and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
Peck was arrested and charged in 2003 for child sexual abuse, but the victim’s name had been sealed.
Ultimately, the television employee was sentenced to 16 months in prison, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
In the wake of the premiere, Bell revealed that the support he’s received from fans ‘has been incredible.’
‘There’s been a ton of support. And when you are diving into something like that, you are very trepidatious. It’s an emotional roller coaster. You don’t know how people are going to react, or what’s going to happen, or what the aftermath is going to be,’ the Newport Beach, California native shared. ‘People are coming up and sharing their stories. And it’s been really nice.’
