The Amanda Show

The Amanda Show is a sketch comedy television program set in a universe in which it is broadcast as a popular television comedy (a show-within-a-show). Recurring sketches include "Judge Trudy", a spoof of the courtroom reality Judge Judy; "So You Want to Win Five Dollars?", a spoof of the ABC game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?; "Moody's Point", a spoof of the teen drama ''Dawson's Creek''; and "Blockblister", a spoof of the now-defunct video rental store Blockbuster. The show also featured Bynes playing her own superfan, a character called Penelope Taynt. ==Episodes==

• Amanda Bynes – Herself, Penelope Taynt, Judge Trudy, Blini Blokey, Amber, Doreen, Cynthia Worthington, Moody Fallon, Crazy Courtney, Candy Tulips, Katie Klutz, Lula Mae, Cindy Extreme, Sharon, Melody, Mother Caboose, Babs Wrestleberg, People Place Owner, various others • Nancy Sullivan – Herself, Miss Yumbo, Mrs. Klutz, Marcy Stimple, Mrs. DeBoat, Mrs. Rostensan, Mrs. Extreme, Ms. Berkle, various others • Drake Bell – Himself, Carter Klutz, Totally Kyle, Biscotti Blokey, Jeremy Pivers, Eenis, Tony Pajamas, Toby, Thad, Curtis McPeen, Jason Fima, Calvin Stubbs, various others • Raquel Lee – Herself, Sheila, various others • John Kassir – Himself, Carl Klutz, Mr. Rostensan, Gnocchi Blokey, Doreen's Dad, Mr. Gullible, Principal Thorn, various others • Josh Peck – Himself, The Dancing Lobster 2, Paulie, Gerald Phillip, Gordy Moller, various others Supporting cast • Brian Ahearn – Various • E. E. Bell – Barney the Security Guard, Kreblock • Steffani Brass – Various • Gregg Berger – Announcer • Danny Bonaduce – Customer, Mr. McOliver • Matthew Botuchis – Sternum • Jillian Bynes – Babysitter • Ashley Edner – Rebecca Fyoomay, various • Carey Eidel – Moody's Dad • Taylor Emerson – Preston Taynt • Shayna Fox – Audience Member, Margie Finkus • Taran Killam – Spaulding • Steven Anthony Lawrence – Various • Maureen McCormick – Moody's Mom • Lara Jill Miller – Kathy • Jenna Morrison – Debbie, LunchBay.com spokesperson, Julie • Andrew Hill Newman – Mr. Gullible, Gnocchi Blokey, various • Molly Orr – Misty Rains, Girl, Zit Girl • Lauren Petty – Brie, Babysitter • Reagan Gomez-Preston – Sheila • Jeremy Rowley – Customer • Dan Sachoff – Doreen's Dad, Mr. Extreme • Dan Schneider – Mr. Oldman, Announcer, additional voices • Francesca Marie Smith – Amanda's Friend, Girl • Jamie Snow – Tammy, Customer, Amy Drummel • Kyle Sullivan – Hershal, Boy • Radley Watkins – Various • Gary Anthony Williams – Bailiff ==Background and production==

At age 10, Amanda Bynes was performing stand-up comedy in Hollywood at the Laugh Factory when Nickelodeon's talent scouts, including Dan Schneider, took notice and offered her a role on the network's live-action variety series All That. Finding success on the series, Bynes appeared in an array of guest roles in film and television as well as a recurring panelist role on Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out. premiered in the Saturday evening prime time slot on Nickelodeon, which released AmandaPlease.com, a tie-in website, around the same time. Peck had been arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 16 months in prison and being required to register as a sex offender in 2004, but the identity of the minor victim had not previously been made public. A gender discrimination and hostile workplace lawsuit filed in 2000 alleged that Schneider inappropriately requested massages from the crew, but it was settled out of court. In an interview video uploaded on March 19, 2024, one day after the conclusion of Quiet on Set, Schneider apologized for some of the claims, especially those for his demeanor at the time, stating, "It was wrong. It was wrong that I ever put anyone in that position. It was wrong to do. I'd never do it today. I'm embarrassed that I did it then. I apologize to anybody that I ever put in that situation". He denied having a role in the writers’ salaries, stating that it was a common practice for writers to share salaries. Regarding Bell's experience, Schneider, who denied involvement in the network's decision to hire Peck, stated, "When Drake and I talked and he told me about what happened, I was more devastated by that than anything that ever happened to me in my career thus far", and provided support for Bell, calling the ordeal the “darkest part of my career”. Following the Quiet on Set revelations, Bell reported on social media that his Amanda Show and Drake & Josh co-star Josh Peck had "reached out to talk with me and help me work through this. And has been really, really great." ==Release==

Broadcast The Amanda Show premiered on Nickelodeon's 8:30 PM segment of SNICK on October 16, 1999, and new episodes aired until September 21, 2002. Nickelodeon carried reruns of The Amanda Show during its TEENick block until September 5, 2007. On October 13, 2007, reruns started airing as part of the "TEENick on The N" block on The N. Reruns were pulled in March 2008 before airing again from April 4, 2009, to August 3, 2009. The series' original TV rating was TV-Y7, but was changed to TV-G, like all of the other shows that aired on the former TEENick block on Nickelodeon. On July 11, 2011, the British Nicktoons channel began airing the series; it showed weekdays at 9:00 p.m. Some episodes missing from broadcast included three episodes (episodes 3, 8, 11 and 12) from Season 1, three Season 2 episodes (episodes 3, 7 and 14), and four episodes from Season 3 (episodes 1, 2, 6 and 10). Reasons for these episodes not being shown are unknown. Nickelodeon Canada began airing the series on September 5, 2011, with the exception of Season 1 episodes 8 and 12 (which featured musical guests), and Season 3 episode 11. The series was removed from the schedule on June 3, 2013. Reruns of The Amanda Show started airing on TeenNick on October 11, 2011. Although it was originally announced as part of TeenNick's 1990s block ''The '90s Are All That'', the series instead aired as a standalone series during the daytime. The show would later return on September 17, 2012, and aired in two-hour blocks, until being removed again on March 17, 2013. The series later premiered on The Splat (later NickSplat and NickRewind) on June 10, 2016, and on August 27, 2017, as part of a SNICK 25th anniversary marathon, before briefly returning again in 2020. In April 2025, the show began airing on the free streaming service Pluto TV, airing during late night hours on the Nickelodeon 90's Kids 2 channel. Home media and streaming services Three volumes of The Amanda Show were released on VHS and DVD beginning on October 5, 2004. Four Best Of volumes released exclusively on iTunes from 2008 to 2013. Later manufacture-on-demand releases were made available through Amazon beginning on March 12, 2012. Two releases, ''Volume 4: Penelope's Picks and Volume 5: Trudy's Duties'', were canceled after initially being scheduled to release on July 12, 2005, and September 20, 2005, respectively. As of March 2021, the show is available to stream on Paramount+, without the four episodes excluded on DVD (1, 5, 8, and 12). ==Reception==

The Amanda Show has been met with mostly positive reviews since its premiere. Within weeks of its debut, AmandaPlease.com, the series' official website, had attracted 150,000 hits and received 16,000 emails. Bynes commented on her stardom in a 2000 interview, stating, "It feels like it's unreal. [...] I love doing what I'm doing. And for kids to watch me and come up to me and say they want to be like me, it's a really big honor." Dan Schneider, creator and producer of the series, spoke highly of Bynes' talent on All That as it progressed to the star's spin-off series, stating, "You have to feed kids the material; you do have to invent it for them. A lot of kids can regurgitate lines -- the Olsen twins when they first started on Full House. Schneider further stated, "To find a kid who can play the daughter or son on a sitcom is tough, but to find a kid who can do what Dana Carvey and Eddie Murphy do, you (have to) look at 2,000 before you find her. I've never seen anything like Amanda." Bynes was a breakout star from working on The Amanda Show and experienced high commercial success since, starring in a variety of projects such as ''She's the Man (2006), Hairspray (2007), and Easy A'' (2010), before taking a hiatus from entertainment to focus on her mental health amid struggles with drugs and alcohol. ==Notes==