List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes

Stephen Hillenburg, shown here in 2011, created SpongeBob SquarePants, which premiered on May 1, 1999.

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999. ^[1] The series is set in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, and centers on the adventures and endeavors of SpongeBob SquarePants, an enthusiastic and optimistic sea sponge. Many of the ideas for the show originated in an unpublished, educational comic book titled The Intertidal Zone, which Hillenburg created in the mid-1980s. He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996 after the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life , another Nickelodeon television series that Hillenburg previously directed. ^{[2] [3]}

As of September 19,2025, ^[update] 323 episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants have aired, currently in its sixteenth season. The fifteenth season consisted of 13 episodes. A sixteenth season premiered on June 27, 2025. ^[4] The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie , a feature-length film, was released in theaters on November 19, 2004, and grossed over US$140 million worldwide. ^[5] Atlantis SquarePantis , a television film guest starring David Bowie, debuted as part of the fifth season. ^[6] In 2009, Nickelodeon celebrated the show's tenth anniversary with Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants and SpongeBob's Truth or Square . ^{[7] [8]} The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water , a stand-alone sequel, was released in theaters on February 6, 2015, and grossed over US$324 million worldwide. ^[9] In 2019, Nickelodeon celebrated the show's twentieth anniversary with SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout , a television film.

Episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants have been nominated for a variety of different awards, including 17 Annie Awards (with six wins), ^[10] 17 Golden Reel Awards (with eight wins), ^[11] 15 Emmy Awards (with one win), ^[12] 23 Kids' Choice Awards (with 22 wins), ^[13] and four BAFTA Children's Awards (with two wins). ^[14] Several compilation DVDs have been released. In addition, the first fourteen seasons have been released on DVD, and are available for Regions 1, 2 and 4 as of November 19, 2024. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Segments	Originally released		Average viewership (millions)
				First released	Last released
1	20		41	May 1, 1999 (1999-05-01)	March 3, 2001 (2001-03-03)	2.65
2	20		39	October 20, 2000 (2000-10-20)	July 26, 2003 (2003-07-26)	2.88
3	20		37	October 5, 2001 (2001-10-05)	October 11, 2004 (2004-10-11)	4.42
4	20		38	May 6, 2005 (2005-05-06)	July 24, 2007 (2007-07-24)	3.86
5	20		41	February 19, 2007 (2007-02-19)	July 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)	4.11
6	26		47	March 3, 2008 (2008-03-03)	July 5, 2010 (2010-07-05)	4.09
7	26		50	July 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)	June 11, 2011 (2011-06-11)	4.54
8	26		47	March 26, 2011 (2011-03-26)	December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)	3.26
9	26	11	20	July 21, 2012 (2012-07-21)	March 29, 2015 (2015-03-29)	2.79
		15	29	July 16, 2015 (2015-07-16)	February 20, 2017 (2017-02-20)
10	11		22	October 15, 2016 (2016-10-15)	December 2, 2017 (2017-12-02)	1.95
11	26		50	June 24, 2017 (2017-06-24)	November 25, 2018 (2018-11-25)	1.54
12	26		48	November 11, 2018 (2018-11-11)	April 29, 2022 (2022-04-29)	0.95
13	26		52	October 22, 2020 (2020-10-22)	November 1, 2023 (2023-11-01)	0.31
14	13 [a]		21	November 2, 2023 (2023-11-02)	December 2, 2024 (2024-12-02)	0.17
15	13		26	July 24, 2024 (2024-07-24)	June 20, 2025 (2025-06-20)	TBA
16	13		22	June 27, 2025 (2025-06-27)	TBA	TBA

Episodes

Seasons 1–10 (1999–2017)

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes (seasons 1–10)

Seasons 11–present (2017–present)

Main article: List of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes (seasons 11–present)

Films

Main article: SpongeBob SquarePants film series

Title	Directed by	Written and storyboarded by	Release date
Main series
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie	Stephen Hillenburg	Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, and Paul Tibbitt	November 19, 2004 (2004-11-19) (U.S.) November 14, 2004 (international)
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water	Paul Tibbitt	Story by : Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt Screenplay by : Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger Storyboarded by : Luke Brookshier, Mike Cachuela, Marc Ceccarelli, Emma Coats, Joel Crawford, Nick Cross, Heiko Drengenberg, Bob Flynn, Matt Flynn, Dalton Grant Jr., Elizabeth Ito, Tom King, Jay Oliva, Howie Perry, Chris Reccardi, Johnny Ryan, David P. Smith, Eddie Trigueros, and Carson Kuglar	February 6, 2015 (2015-02-06) (U.S.) January 28, 2015 (international)
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run	Tim Hill	Story by : Tim Hill, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger Screenplay by : Tim Hill Storyboarded by : Zeus Cervas, Charlotte Jackson, Charles Klein, Kenny Pittenger, Chris Reccardi, Jason Reicher, Josh Engel, Brian Morante, Fred Osmond, John Trabbic, and Josh Zinman	August 14, 2020 (2020-08-14) (Canada) November 5, 2020 (international) March 4, 2021 (U.S.)
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants	Derek Drymon [18]	Story by : Pam Brady, Kaz, and Andrew Goodman [19] Screenplay by : Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman [19]	December 19, 2025 (2025-12-19) [18] (U.S.) December 17, 2025 [20] (international)
Spin-off series
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie	Liza Johnson	Story by : Kaz Screenplay by : Kaz and Tom Stern Storyboarded by : Chuck Klein, Jason Dorf, Mark Stanleigh, Steven E. Gordon, Brian Mann, Maddie Taylor, Brian Hatfield, Katie Smith, Dylan Bozic, Eliza Herndon, and Joey Mason	August 2, 2024 (2024-08-02) (worldwide)
Plankton: The Movie	Dave Needham [21]	Story by : Mr. Lawrence [21] Screenplay by : Kaz, Chris Viscardi, and Mr. Lawrence [21] Storyboarded by : Chuck Klein, Casey Alexander, Benjamin Arcand, Jason Reicher, Clayton Morrow, Luke Allen, Joshua Engel, Delia Gosman, Katie Smith & Thomas Wellmann	March 7, 2025 (2025-03-07) [22] (worldwide)

Notes

1. The second half of the season was split into a fifteenth season bringing the number of episodes to 13.

References

1. Gates, Anita (July 11, 1999). "Television / Radio; The Tide Pool as Talent Pool (It Had to Happen)". The New York Times . Retrieved April 26, 2008.
2. Hillenburg, Stephen (2003). The Origin of SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
3. Banks 2004 , p. 10
4. Milligan, Mercedes (June 2, 2025). "Nickelodeon Kicks Off "Summer of F.U.N." with New SpongeBob Crossover Special". Animation Magazine . Retrieved June 7, 2025.
5. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 18, 2014.
6. Walsh-Boyle, Megan (November 12, 2007). "Grammy Winner David Bowie Lends His Voice to SpongeBob". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
7. "Nickelodeon Taps Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley to Produce First-Ever SpongeBob..." Reuters. January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on August 25, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2013.
8. Zahed, Ramid (July 24, 2009). "Soaking in Festivities". Animation. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
9. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved May 26, 2015.
10. Award wins include:
    • "32nd Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". Annie Award. ASIFA-Hollywood. 2005. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
    • "33rd Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". Annie Award. ASIFA-Hollywood. 2006. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
    • "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". Annie Award. ASIFA-Hollywood. 2010. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
    • "38th Annual Annie Nominations". Annie Award. ASIFA-Hollywood. 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
    • "40th Annual Annie Awards Winners". Annie Award. ASIFA-Hollywood. 2013. Archived from the original on April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
11. Award wins include:
    • "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA". Motion Picture Sound Editors. March 25, 2000. Retrieved May 22, 2013. — via Internet Movie Database.
    • "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA". Motion Picture Sound Editors. March 24, 2001. Retrieved May 22, 2013. — via Internet Movie Database.
    • "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA". Motion Picture Sound Editors. March 23, 2002. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2013. — via Internet Movie Database.
    • "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA". Motion Picture Sound Editors. March 22, 2003. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2013. — via Internet Movie Database.
    • "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA". Motion Picture Sound Editors. February 28, 2004. Retrieved May 22, 2013. — via Internet Movie Database.
    • "Best Sound Editing: SFX, Foley, Dialogue, ADR & Music for TV Animation". Motion Picture Sound Editors. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
12. "Winners of the 37th Annual Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy® Awards" (PDF). Emmy Award. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
13. Award wins include:
    • "Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Press Sire". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Press Site". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "2005 Kids' Choice Awards Winners". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "2006 Kids' Choice Awards Winners". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "2007 KCA Winners Release". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "2009 Winners Release". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "Releases". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • "Johnny Depp, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, iCarly, The Black Eyed Peas, Miley Cyrus, Jennette McCurdy, SpongeBob SquarePants, Eddie Murphy, Despicable Me, Shaquille O'Neal and more win coveted Orange Blimps at Nickelodeon's 2011 Kids' Choice Awards". Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. April 2, 2011. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • Swift, Andy (March 31, 2012). "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012 Winners — See The Full List". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • Derschowitz, Jessica (March 23, 2013). "Kids' Choice Awards 2013: List of winners". CBS News. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
    • Couch, Aaron; Washington, Arlene (March 29, 2014). "Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards: The Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 30, 2014.
14. Award wins include:
    • "Children's in 2007". British Academy Children's Awards . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved April 1, 2014.
    • "Children's in 2012". British Academy Children's Awards . British Academy of Film and Television Arts . Retrieved April 1, 2014.
15. "SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)". TVShowsonDVD.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
16. "Spongebob Squarepants – Season 8 [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. October 28, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
17. "Spongebob Squarepants – Season 8". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
18. Gardner, Chris (April 11, 2024). "'The Smurfs Movie' Sets Starry Cast to Join Rihanna; Dave Bautista, Eric Nam Board 'Airbender' Franchise". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
19. "CinemaCon: Paramount Updates 'Last Airbender' Movie Title". Animation Magazine . April 3, 2025. Archived from the original on April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
20. "BOB L'EPONGE LE FILM : A LA RECHERCHE DE L'EPONGE PERDUE". Paramount Pictures France.
21. D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 6, 2024). "'SpongeBob' Antagonist 'Plankton' Is Getting His Own Netflix Movie In 2025". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
22. Truitt, Brian (January 17, 2025). "15 new movies you'll want to stream this year, from 'Happy Gilmore' to 'Bridget Jones'". USA Today . Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2025.

Works cited

• Banks, Steven (September 24, 2004). SpongeBob Exposed! The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants. Schigiel, Gregg (Illustrator). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon. ISBN   978-0-689-86870-2.
• Neuwirth, Allan (2003). Makin' Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows and Movies . Allworth Communications, Inc. pp.  50, 252–253. ISBN   1-58115-269-8.

External links

• SpongeBob SquarePants at IMDb
• SpongeBob SquarePants at the Big Cartoon DataBase