Explosive New Documentary To Reveal Trauma Of Disney Child Stars

In the wake of ID's docuseries, "Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV," more former child stars are spilling the tea on their time with Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. The explosive series featured Drake Bell, Alexa Nikolas, Kyle Sullivan, and more, with many accusing Dan Schneider and Brian Peck of abuse.

After its debut, stars like Ariana Grande, Josh Peck, and Victoria Justice also chimed in, sharing their own stories and reacting to the docuseries.

While "Quiet On Set" mainly dragged Nickelodeon into the spotlight, 90s and 2000s kids are now itching to hear from Disney Channel alums about their behind-the-scenes experiences at Nickelodeon’s big rival--and it seems fans will get their wish as Demi Lovato is set to direct "Child Star," an upcoming docuseries that will feature candid conversations with other former child stars, such as Drew Barrymore and JoJo Siwa.

The nearly 90-minute project delves into the personal and complex world of early fame and its many challenges.

Alongside her own narrative, Demi Lovato, who is directing the project, had candid conversations with other former child stars, such as Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, JoJo Siwa, and Kenan Thompson. Despite their diverse talents and experiences, their stories collectively paint a picture of trauma and instability, highlighting themes of rejection, betrayal, and constant pressure.

While it won't place blame on any one person, such as former Nickelodeon stars did in ID’s "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," it will focus on child stardom.

“From Shirley Temple to TikTok,” producer Michael D. Ratner said, per The Hollywood Reporter, the docuseries will show what happens when you “give a really serious job to a really young kid and suddenly they’re making way more money than their parents,” veteran filmmaker Nicola Marsh added.

"The entire family ecosystem becomes dependent on that kid working that hard, and, I believe it’s Raven-Symoné who says it, they’ll milk the light out of you because there’s money to be made," Marsh said.

Initially, Demi Lovato had no plans to release "Child Star" on a Disney-owned streaming service as it was initially slated for YouTube Originals, the same platform that hosted her 2021 doc, "Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil," but when YouTube Originals suddenly shut down in early 2022, Hulu swooped in to grab the project.

For Disney TV Group president Craig Erwich, the combination of a “very personal story around a very public story” was a no-brainer for his streaming service.

However, the elephant in the room had to be addressed: the potential awkwardness of a company that played a major role in the child stardom game now airing a tell-all doc on the very same topic. “It would have been crazy to pursue it without talking about that,” Ratner said, adding that Hulu gave the team the green light to explore the stories and subject honestly.

“They were like, ‘Yeah, go for it.’ Like, ‘Lean into it because if you try to avoid it, it looks worse,’ ” Marsh added. “And it’s not an exposé, but it is quite blunt, and it’s a credit to Hulu that they didn’t get cold feet — or maybe they did, but they certainly didn’t tell us.”

While Demi Lovato has openly shared her story over the years, not everyone was eager or willing to revisit their own pasts and experiences with Disney and Nickelodeon.

While some of the names have been kept under wraps, veteran filmmaker Nicola Marsh revealed that Keenan Thompson will appear as he was willing to share how he went “from rags to riches to rags” when a man posing as an accountant took nearly all of his Nickelodeon earnings.

“The honesty with which they came to the table was extraordinary,” Marsh said of the upcoming project.

Alyson Stoner, who uses "they/them" pronouns, is the only one of Lovato's "Camp Rock" co-stars who agreed to participate in the documentary. “My concern was that it would fall under the umbrella of sensationalized E! True Hollywood stories that then actually perpetuated what I call the toddler-to-train wreck pipeline,” Stoner said.

Raven-Symoné, who starred as Raven Baxter on Disney Channel's "That's So Raven," was the first recorded interview for the upcoming docuseries.

In the past, the actress opened up about her experience working with the network on her show, revealing one of the pivitol conversations she had with execs. "They were like, do you want Raven to be gay? I said, why? Because you are. I said, bad, bad reason. That's a bad reason," Evie Magazine reported. "Raven Baxter never exhibited any type of sexual identity situation in the priors. I'm not being myself on this show; I'm being a character. Raven Baxter's not gay."

"No matter what the first four seasons looked like with me and Chelsea sleeping in the same room, and us raising a family together, okay?" she joked. "That's not the case. We are friends. We just sleep in the same room."

The emotional toll of having their teenage bodies photoshopped in magazines and the constant pressure to stay "on-brand" as a Disney kid weighed heavily on both Demi Lovato and Alyson Stoner. Lovato openly admitted to feeling envious of the Nickelodeon stars, as that network was known for its edgier and more irreverent image.

“At Disney, you became this instant role model, whether you liked it or not,” she recalled. “And because Disney Channel was so big at the time, there was also this unspoken pressure that if you did make a mistake, you knew that there were millions of people just waiting to take your spot.”

"Child Star" will be released on Hulu on September 17.