Rewind Files: Why Does Drake & Josh Hold Up So Well?
In a positive sense, it’s really easy to fall back into the rhythms of Drake & Josh. This could be meant literally (because man, the theme song still jams) or figuratively (because the jokes are right where you remember them). Simply stated, Drake & Josh is the show you remember it was. The characters still embody their delightful archetypes, the episodes still play out in their classic teenage-schemes-gone-wrong structure, and the timeless “brotherhood persists through difference” lesson is still learned after every 25 minutes.
When you queue up the show again, especially after years without, the positive reinforcement surges back, especially in terms of the characters. Drake is still classic cool, even if his one-strap backpack and junk-food cramming wouldn’t be in vogue today, and Josh is still the best kind of goofball, even if a modern dork would be more prone to computer programming than model rockets. Megan, of course, is still Megan!, and the boys’ step-parents are still graciously in the background. It’s comforting, a relief even, to note that after almost 15 years, there’s not a lot of regrettable, problematic aspects of Drake & Josh. Sure, Drake’s girlfriends are all total bimbos, but they’re positioned to reflect poorly on him more than anything. This is just a classic teenage sitcom. It’s simple viewing.
Sometimes, you watch an old comedy (especially one with a laugh track) and it doesn’t really work anymore. The jokes follow a plodding, predetermined formula, and there aren’t a lot of surprises or curveballs to catch you off guard and coax out a laugh. For a few reasons, Drake & Josh manages to still be funny, even though it probably has plenty of reasons not to be. The show still dwells within the familiar family dynamics and suburban tones that sink many of its same-era peers—traditional domestic environments are just boring and unoriginal in today’s more diverse TV landscape—but that never really works against Drake & Josh. The show wasn’t inventive, but it was somehow influential. The secret lies in its stars.
Most prominent in a Drake & Josh revisiting is the unstoppable charisma of its two titular characters. Drake Bell is a bona fide magnet onscreen, and Josh Peck is the most watchable disaster-character Nickelodeon ever conceived (and remember, they had a ton of loveable-dork stereotypes in those days). The brothers’ chemistry is perfect and their personas feel so natural and effortless that the eternal question of “Whatever happened to Drake and Josh?” is answered right away. These guys were too good at these parts; they could have never been anyone else. An uncool Drake Bell seems impossible, and so does a swaggering Josh Peck. Top to bottom, this show had some of the finest casting in Nickelodeon history, and that did its leads a huge, ironic disservice.
Nonetheless, Drake and Josh’s undeniable charisma helped them elevate the show above the traps a lesser sitcom would fall into. For one thing, the duo’s comedy was really physical. They had zingers (zingers!) for sure, but many of Drake & Josh’s best moments were punctuated by absurd comedic stunts. The brothers wrestling in a pool of chocolate milk, Drake plunging his head in a fish tank, Josh standing amid a maelstrom of popcorn. The show could be clever with its verbal punchlines, but it was wise to know that slapstick ages better than language. Think about it: The fifth time you watch a stand-up special, you won’t laugh as much, but the fifth time you see someone take a hit in the nuts or a spill off a curb, it’s gold. Adult sitcoms don’t emphasize that sort of gag very much, and that’s why they age faster. Being a teen-oriented show, however, the juvenile aspects of Drake & Josh stand out as one of its greatest strengths.
Second, Drake & Josh thrived on a dynamic that celebrated stupid teenager stuff. Tons of shows nowadays punish high schoolers for doing high-school things, like going to parties or dating cheerleaders or falling asleep in class. Or, there’s the other extreme, when shows or movies make their characters live in a world of overly-serious and overly-absurd teenager antics (from 13 Reasons Why to Project X, it runs the gamut). Drake & Josh struck a middle ground. They were silly, but they learned through the silliness. They were sincere, but they always had a gag, guitar riff, or Blues Brothers homage to lighten that sincerity. Tonally, it makes watching the show feel idyllic.
But above all else, Drake & Josh’s greatest triumph is the respect it has for teenagers themselves. The two lead characters were at their best playing off each other, so rather than the writers relinquishing the classic sitcom-sensei power to higher authorities (think of all the godsend teachers or angelic parents of old TV), Drake and Josh played mentor figure and guardian angel to each other. As much as the show’s premise positioned them as nemeses, Drake and Josh still possessed the wisdom and discernment to solve their own problems and settle their own interpersonal conflicts. They really did balance one another, and in that way, they affirmed the show’s old-school “how will these opposites ever get along?!” sensibility. That simple dynamic was all the show needed. It’s an extraordinary feat.
And it’s a choice that a ton of kids’ shows would grow to copy. Drake & Josh made Nickelodeon realize that teenage viewers wanted to be respected enough to be portrayed as their own teachers. They wanted to be seen as independent, wise, and compassionate. Drake and Josh made dumb teenager mistakes, but they still had the insight to pick up valuable teenager lessons. That, certainly, is the show’s most modern aspect, and it’s an idea that would influence every Nickelodeon show to come.
Drake & Josh really was old-fashioned, but it really was funny, and it really was smart. It’s proof that powerful leads and agency-fueled writing can fuel even the simplest of concepts. Who would’ve thought?