Hug me, brotha! Drake Bell and Josh Peck have reunited once again!
The pair, who co-starred on Nickelodeon's popular sitcom Drake & Josh for four years after first appearing together on The Amanda Show, got together while in Las Vegas over the weekend.
© InstagramJosh, 39, took to his Instagram page with a photo beside Drake, also 39, at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, with the former wearing a fitted blue polo and black pants, contrasting with the latter dressed in a tailored pinstriped suit.
And the internet imploded
"Dads," Josh simply captioned the snap, which the official Fontainebleau Instagram page reacted to with the comment: "The reunion we needed," and many fans quickly concurred.
© Getty Images"If hannah montana can do it, our brothas can do it," one wrote (referencing the Hannah Montana anniversary special airing on March 24), and another added: "Great dads. Blessed dads. Your sons are very, VERY blessed to have you two as fathers," with a third saying: "We can achieve world peace." The photo quickly garnered over 300k likes in less than a day of posting.
They found a way
Drake and Josh first met on the set of the sketch comedy series The Amanda Show, which ran from 1999 to 2002. The show was created by Dan Schneider (who has since faced multiple allegations of abuse, inappropriate behavior and creating a toxic workplace environment) and starred Amanda Bynes, with Drake and Josh as regular cast members.
Dan then created the sitcom Drake & Josh, which began airing in 2004, about teenagers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, who become stepbrothers when their parents tie the knot. At first, the lady-killer but apathetic Drake and the intelligent but clumsy Josh butt heads.
© Getty ImagesBut as the series goes on, they develop a closer bond and begin complementing each other's personalities even more, ending with them as best friends and true brothers. The show also stars Miranda Cosgrove as Drake's biological sister Megan, who terrorizes her brothers with elaborate pranks.
The show was a success for the network, running for four seasons and even spawning specials like Drake & Josh Go Hollywood and Really Big Shrimp.
© InstagramDrake and Josh's relationship
While the pair were extremely close during the making of and after the show, at some point, they fell out. It came to a head in 2017 when Drake wasn't invited to Josh's wedding to Paige O'Brien. Josh later claimed that he had received an angry text from his former on-screen sibling about not being invited to the nuptials, later stating that he didn't invite Drake because he "hadn't really talked to him in many, many years."
In subsequent interviews, both mentioned losing touch over the years, but they reconnected with the release of the 2024 docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, in which Drake shared his story of being sexually abused by former acting and dialogue coach Brian Peck.
© Getty ImagesJosh reconnected with Drake privately and the two then appeared on an episode of the Good Guys Podcast, which Josh co-hosts with Ben Soffer. Drake returned for another episode of the podcast this February as well, signaling the pair are as close as can be now.
