"pop culture icon"

1999 · 16 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Animation, Comedy

SpongeBob SquarePants produced one of the greatest runs in animated television history during its first three seasons, establishing characters and comedy that became permanently embedded in pop culture. The decline after creator Stephen Hillenburg stepped back is real and well-documented, with several middle seasons delivering mean-spirited, creatively bankrupt episodes that bear little resemblance to what came before. Later seasons recovered some ground but never fully recaptured the original magic. At its best, nothing in animated comedy touches it. The problem is that its best represents only a fraction of what the show eventually became.