Drake & Josh is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker (Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. Nancy Sullivan and Jonathan Goldstein star as Drake's mother and Josh's father, respectively, and Miranda Cosgrove plays Drake's devious younger sister. Bell performs the series' theme song, "I Found a Way", written by Bell and Backhouse Mike.

Bell and Peck previously appeared in The Amanda Show, a Nickelodeon variety series created by Schneider that ran on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2002. A sketch featuring Bell and Peck arguing over a piece of shrimp prompted network executives to cast the two actors in their own spin-off, Drake & Josh. The series premiered on January 11, 2004, on Nickelodeon to critical acclaim.

During production of the fourth season, Bell was injured during a car accident, and filming stalled for four months during his recovery. A television film, Drake & Josh Go Hollywood, premiered in early 2006. A television special, Really Big Shrimp, served as the series finale, and the series' final new broadcast episode aired on September 16, 2007, marking 56 episodes in 4 seasons for the show. After the finale, the network aired the one-time special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh in 2008.

Drake & Josh was a ratings success, garnering 3.2 million viewers for its premiere, and it consistently ranked as one of the most watched series in its demographic during its run. It won 2 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, 2 UK Kids' Choice Awards, and 3 Australian Kids' Choice Awards and was nominated for 7 other awards, including at the Young Artist Awards and the Casting Society of America. Other media include books, DVD and VHS releases, promotional singles, and video games based on the series.

The series revolves around two teenage stepbrothers, Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, who live in San Diego, California, with Drake's younger biological sister Megan and biological mother Audrey, and Josh's biological father Walter. Drake is cool and charismatic, having his own band and being popular with girls, yet can be narcissistic and absent-minded, while Josh is intellectual, clumsy, and awkward; yet very loving and caring. Josh starts working at a local movie theater in the second season, which becomes a key set location for the rest of the series. Despite their opposite personalities, Drake and Josh have shown multiple times throughout the series that they care deeply about each other and have each others' backs. The two boys are often involved in comedic escapades and challenges while handling various teenage problems.

Drake Bell and Josh Peck had previously acted together on The Amanda Show, created by Dan Schneider.^[2] Bell and Peck's differing personalities inspired Schneider to create a new show starring them as characters with traits similar to their own.^[3] An unaired pilot episode featured Stephen Furst as Walter Nichols, although he was busy with another project when Drake & Josh was picked up as a series, and Jonathan Goldstein was cast in the role instead.^[4][5] A house in Los Angeles' Encino neighborhood was used for exterior shots of the family's home,^[6][7][8] while interior scenes were shot on a sound stage at the Nickelodeon on Sunset studios in Hollywood.^[9] Tribune Studios in Hollywood was also used as a filming location.^[10]

Production was suspended in late December 2005, after Bell's injury in a car crash,^[11][12] prior to which he had filmed three episodes of the fourth season.^[11] Bell's accident was the result of a driver falling asleep at the wheel and colliding head-on with Bell's 1966 Mustang, which had no seat belts or airbags, resulting in extensive facial injuries.^[13] Filming resumed in March 2006^[13][14] with the episode "My Dinner with Bobo".^[15] The following month, Nickelodeon greenlit an additional seven episodes for the fourth season, and Bell and Peck signed on to direct several episodes.^[16][14] With the extended season, filming continued through July 2006.^[14] According to Schneider, the show ended due to a collective decision from the creative forces behind the show.^[17]

The profession of the family's mother is never revealed on the show, although Schneider had written dialogue into the series finale that would have revealed her profession at a catering business. The scene was filmed, but Schneider ultimately chose to remove it during editing. Schneider said, "On the one hand, I thought it was funny to finally reveal it, so casually, in the very last episode – there was something ironic about that. But then I decided that, because fans always seemed to have fun trying to figure it out (what 'Mom's' name and job were), it would be better to 'keep the bit going' for eternity, by never revealing it in any episode."^[1]

The series premiere was watched by 3.2 million viewers,^[18] Nickelodeon's highest-rated series premiere in nearly 10 years.^[19] As of 2006, Drake & Josh ranked consistently among the 10 most-watched cable shows of the week,^[11] and was the top-rated live-action series among children aged 2 to 11 years old.^[19] It averaged three million viewers at the time.^[16] It proved to be popular with younger viewers.^[20] According to Schneider, Drake & Josh had its highest ratings in its final season.^[17]

The series received two television films. Drake & Josh Go Hollywood premiered on January 6, 2006. In the film, Drake and Josh are left at home in San Diego after their parents go on a ten-day cruise. The boys are told to take Megan to the airport so she can visit her friend in Denver, but they accidentally send her on a flight to Los Angeles. Drake and Josh go to Hollywood to get Megan back, but end up stopping a multibillion-dollar heist and booking a guest-spot for Drake on TRL. According to TV Guide, it was the highest-rated program on all of cable during its opening week.

Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh premiered on December 5, 2008. Michael Grossman directed the film, and Schneider returned as executive producer. In the film, Drake and Josh try to give a foster family "the best Christmas ever".^[36] The premiere of Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh broke the record of most viewers for the premiere of a Nickelodeon film with 9.10 million viewers, a title previously held by iGo to Japan.