Each year, the Television Academy Hall of Fame honors multiple individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to American television. One man who has not yet been inducted in the prestigious group, and rightfully should be, is Dan Schneider. 

You might not recognize his name, but you know his work. For over two decades, Schneider has created some of the best and most memorable children’s television shows on Nickelodeon, including “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” “Zoey 101,” “Drake and Josh,” “iCarly,” “Victorious” and “Sam and Cat.”

If Schneider should be called anything for his remarkable television career, it should be “comedic genius.” Each of his shows are hilarious, quirky and as family-friendly as anything can be. Maybe that’s why they were so popular over the years and Nickelodeon allowed him to keep churning out hits like he did.

These shows have great concepts. From two stepbrothers living in San Diego always finding themselves involved in shenanigans, a children’s version of Saturday Night Live with various sketches, and a girl starting her own web show with her friends, all of the story lines were no doubt original. Each show ended up being a childhood treasure.

The dialogue on all of these shows was golden. Iconic phrases like, “Case closed! Bring in the dancing lobsters!” “Hug Me Brotha!” and “Gibby!” makes these shows even more memorable to watch again and again.

Who could forget the secondary characters? With the likes of cotton swab- and white glue-loving Stacey Dillsen with a lisp, nerds Craig and Eric, and the ever-so-hilarious shirtless Gibby, these characters advanced these shows to become one of the golden ages of children’s television. 

In television history, folks like Garry Marshall created multiple hit shows in the 1970s like “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy,” and Chuck Lorre created his own hits like “Dharma and Greg,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.” These men have made countless contributions to the world of television, and Schneider is not far behind them. 

Creating memorable sitcoms that not only grab the audience but keep them coming back for more for many years is quite the feat. Crafting a successful TV show is probably one of the toughest jobs in the world, but creating so many successful shows in a short period of time is an accomplishment worth awarding.

Who knows when or if Schneider will ever be inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, but one thing is for sure: His work has impacted a whole new generation of television fans and causes them to watch reruns even now for not only the laughs, but the nostalgia of it all.

Schneider, wherever you are today, thank you for your remarkable work on television over the years. You will never go unnoticed.

Noah is a junior in Media.

[email protected]