SpongeBob Just Broke a 24-Year Streak

Game ZXC

SpongeBob SquarePants

By Dalton Cooper

Published Nov 28, 2023

Highlights

SpongeBob SquarePants just broke a 24-year streak by airing an episode without SpongeBob himself.
The episode "BassWard" focuses on Squidward and Bubble Bass, leaving SpongeBob out entirely.
The show and franchise are still going strong with future episodes, spin-offs, films, and video games in the works.

SpongeBob SquarePants just broke a 24-year streak by airing an episode that doesn't feature the titular SpongeBob SquarePants in any capacity. SpongeBob SquarePants has consistently aired new episodes since the show's first season debuted all the way back in 1999. The massively popular cartoon is easily Nickelodeon's biggest success, becoming a blockbuster franchise that includes everything from feature-length films to video games to theme park attractions.

Even though SpongeBob SquarePants has been on Nickelodeon since 1999, the show just recently entered its 14th season. This is because SpongeBob seasons are typically multi-year affairs. SpongeBob SquarePants Season 14 premiered on November 2 with the episode "Single-Celled Defense," and its latest episode, "BassWard," aired on November 23.

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The best SpongeBob SquarePants games feature the titular character involved in some bizarre antics and platforming segments within Bikini Bottom.

The "BassWard" episode in SpongeBob SquarePants is all about Squidward and Bubble Bass coming into conflict as they both try to travel to Jetsam City for separate conventions. According to Fandom, SpongeBob doesn't appear in the episode at all, marking the first time this has happened in the show's 24-year run. It's rather surprising that SpongeBob doesn't at least make a cameo in the episode, and one has to wonder why the decision was made to finally produce an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants that doesn't feature the title character. It will be interesting to see if this is the last time it happens or if any future episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants are made without the world-famous sponge making an appearance.

There should be plenty of opportunity for future SpongeBob SquarePants episodes to be made without SpongeBob, as the show is showing no signs of slowing down. Nickelodeon will keep commissioning new episodes for SpongeBob as long as it remains its most popular show, so fans can likely look forward to years of new content. And that's not even counting the multiple SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off shows that are still airing new episodes as well.

Of course, the SpongeBob franchise has become much bigger than the TV series, and so fans can expect plenty of new content in other media arenas as well. Multiple SpongeBob SquarePants film projects are in active development, and it is highly likely that many more SpongeBob video games will be produced in the years to come. In fact, 2023 has already been a pretty big year for SpongeBob in terms of video games, with SpongeBob Simulator hitting Roblox, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake launching at the beginning of the year, SpongeBob DLC added to PowerWash Simulator, and SpongeBob taking on a lead role in the Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 platform fighter.