In 2004, Nickelodeon first aired the hit teen show, Drake & Josh. The sitcom starred Drake Bell and Josh Peck, who played reluctant step-brothers. The show ended in 2007 after four seasons, and Bell and Peck both moved on after the show to focus on their respective careers. Bell is a singer and musician and even sang the theme sang for the show.
Peck initially focused on his acting career and starred in some films and television shows, but he’s since focused more on creating videos for YouTube. There were several internet rumors that Bell and Peck had a falling out or that the end of the show was the cause of a long-standing feud between the two. Here’s what you need to know about the former fictional brothers.
What happened between Drake Bell & Josh Peck?
Peck and Bell were friends prior to the creation of their show, as the two starred on The Amanda Show together. It was their chemistry on the sketch show that led to their series. On Drake & Josh, the two played polar opposites, though their characters soon developed a very close bond. That bond was also evident in real-life. The show’s success spawned two films after the show’s cancellation.
Josh Peck, who lost a significant amount of weight during his time on Drake & Josh, took on more mature roles after leaving his Nickelodeon days. Peck starred in a few movies, including The Wedding Ringer, Chronically Metropolitan, and What Goes Up. In 2015, Peck landed the main role on the short-lived show, Grandfathered, opposite John Stamos.
Drake Bell stayed true to his childhood roots and played the live-action version of Timmy Turner in the Fairly Oddparents movies. Bell then provided the voice for Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the animated series, Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD. The singer also released albums in 2006 and 2014.
In 2017, Peck married his longtime girlfriend, Paige O’ Brien. The actor shared the news on his Instagram, but fans were quick to notice that Bell wasn’t present. The singer publicly expressed his disappointment in not receiving an invite to the nuptials, leading many to speculate the two were on bad terms.
The return of “Hug me, brotha!”
Josh Peck, however, insisted there weren’t any issues between the two. He said that he hadn’t spoken to his former co-star in years prior to his wedding, which is why Drake Bell wasn’t invited. The semi-dramatic moment was cleared up when Bell made a guest appearance on Grandfathered and later offered his congratulations to Peck when he announced on social media that he was expecting his first child.
“Congratulations!” Bell commented on Peck’s baby announcement, to which the new father responded, “Thanks bro!” Peck still posts clips from the show of the two together, so there’s obviously no bad blood. The two seem to be brothers once again.
Josh Peck has since found far greater success after becoming a YouTuber and launching his own lifestyle channel alongside YouTube giant David Dobrik. He’s also set to star in the Disney+ reboot of Turner & Hooch. Bell, meanwhile, just released a new album and is currently touring to promote its release.
In 2019, Drake Bell revealed that there could be a Drake & Josh reboot in the works. “[The show] is going to be way more creative, way cooler than just you know the college years or something like that. We knew that if we were ever going to come back, it’s got to be something cool. I’m excited to see what the fans think,” Bell stated about the reboot. There hasn’t been any more news on the possible show, but we’re still hoping that it does happen in the future. At the very least, maybe we’ll be able to watch it on our GameSphere!