EXCLUSIVE: Nickelodeon has picked up additional seasons of its longest-running series, SpongeBob SquarePants, and its spinoff The Patrick Star Show. SpongeBob SquarePants, starring Tom Kenny, has been renewed for Cycle 16 (Seasons 18 and 19 with 26 half-hour episodes in total) and The Patrick Star Show, headlined by Bill Fagerbakke, for Cycle 4 (Seasons 6 and 7 with 26 half-hour episodes in total).
All four new seasons are currently in production. Season 18 of SpongeBob SquarePants and Season 6 of The Patrick Star Show are scheduled to premiere on Nickelodeon in Q4 2026, with Season 19 of SpongeBob and Season 7 of Patrick Star slated for 2027.
The SpongeBob SquarePants and The Patrick Star Show pickups follow similar renewals last month for Nickelodeon’s PAW Patrol and spinoff Rubble & Crew for an additional 26 episodes each, marking seasons 14 and 15 for Paw Patrol, and seasons 5 and 6 for Rubble & Crew. Meanwhile, the network late last year canceled Dora and Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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The pickups and the cancellations fit into the programming shift after the Paramount-Skydance merger that prioritizes top franchises across the Paramount cable brands consolidated into a TV Media division overseen by Chair George Cheeks. He signaled the strategy in a memo last November that named both SpongeBob and PAW Patrol while hinting at a slimming down the roster of cable series. (Because of how long it takes to produce animated series, the new cycles of SpongeBob Square Pants and The Patrick Star Show were likely already in the works at the time.)
“Our cable brands will focus on a more curated slate, optimizing programming and marketing resources to amplify what resonates most,” Cheecks said back then. “That means leaning into franchises like SpongeBob, PAW Patrol, RuPaul’s Drag Race, South Park, Ms. Pat and The Daily Show, while continuing to develop new IP across our studios and seeking new ways to amplify and connect with audiences.”
New episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants are premiering Fridays at 5 pm and will continue to rollout into July and August, with The Patrick Star Show joining the lineup on Fridays at 6 pm.
The SpongeBob SquarePants franchise is the #1 cross-platform franchise in 2026-to-date among K6-11, Nickelodeon said, citing Nielsen Big Data + Panel L+SD streaming/L+3D linear.