The American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants has been an ongoing series for 23 years. For 20 of those years, it has been the most-watched kid’s cartoon show on TV.
On February 24th 2018, fans young and old were heartbroken when the supposedly official SpongeBob Twitter account announced that the show was to supposedly end on March 1st 2018.
Nickelodeon confirmed that the Tweet was a hoax on February 26th, 2018, when they announced the show’s 12th season with a 2019 release date.
This wasn’t the first nor last time rumors about SpongeBob SquarePants ending had made rounds on the internet.
Similar rumors emerged in March 2022 when SpongeBob’s final episode was incorrectly listed as February 25th, 2022.
At the time, there was no information about a potential season 14 from Nickelodeon.
Fans were quick to believe the incorrect listing as Nickelodeon had been airing the show less and less around the time of the rumor to shed more light on their various new SpongeBob projects. Once again, these rumors turned out to be false.
The SpongeBob SquarePants franchise is still going strong after 23 years with no plans of slowing down!
SpongeBob SquarePants Season 14 Announcement
Season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants was announced at Nickelodeon’s 2022 Upfront Presentation on March 24th, 2022. It was also confirmed that season 14 will be 26 episodes long.
As of August 2022, no release date has been announced yet, but it is expected to premiere in 2024.
Before the Upfront presentation, Brian Robbins (the Chief Content Officer, Movies and Kids & Family for Paramount+) had already made several SpongeBob SquarePants-related announcements.
At the 2022 ViacomCBS/ Paramount Investors Event in February 2022, Robbins confirmed 3 new SpongeBob films that would receive theatrical releases.
These will be character-driven films that will follow the lives and adventures of Bikini Bottom characters that are not SpongeBob.
The first of these films will hit theatres in 2023.
There was also confirmation for new seasons of both SpongeBob SquarePants’ spin-off series before the Upfront presentation.
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years will start airing its new season on September 30th, 2022.
The Patrick Star Show was renewed for a new 26-episode season in March 2022.
Claudia Spinelli (who has played a crucial part in the series’ development and has had a hand in various other SpongeBob projects) promises The Patrick Star Show’s next season to be “more imaginative, colorful and hilarious” than the show’s first season.
As these other projects were announced before SpongeBob season 14, it is clear that Nickelodeon is focusing on releasing their newer project first.
Fans should not expect season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants until 2023 at the earliest.
It is not unusual for Nickelodeon to wait longer than a year to release the next season of SpongeBob.
The wait between season 9 and 10’s season premier was over 3 years.
There is always the first SpongeBob SquarePants crossover special episode, “The Tidal Zone,” for fans of the original series to look forward to.
The special will combine the original SpongeBob SquarePants series and its two spin-off series in an hour-long special event that will premier on Nickelodeon in November 2022.
Until an official release date is confirmed for season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants, fans should get excited to see the show’s original style and characters in “The Tidal Zone.”
How Many Episodes In SpongeBob SquarePants Season 14?
At the same time that Nickelodeon announced season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants, they also confirmed that the season would be 26 episodes long.
This is a typical number of episodes for a SpongeBob SquarePants season.
6 out of the 13 previous seasons of the show have been 26 episodes long, including the last season to have aired (season 13).
SpongeBob already has the most episodes of any Nicktoon, which is the name given to Nickelodeon’s original cartoons.
At 276 episodes, SpongeBob is over 100 episodes ahead of Rugrats and The Fairly OddParents. They both consist of 172 episodes and are joint second for being the longest Nicktoons.
Season 14 will make SpongeBob SquarePants the only Nicktoon to breach 300 episodes, reaching 319 episodes.
Why Was Season 14 Of SpongeBob SquarePants Delayed?
There is no real proof that season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants should be considered delayed.
Season 13 is still airing new episodes as it has been sporadically since October 22nd, 2020.
Originally, season 13 only comprised of 13 episodes. But 13 more were ordered to be added to the season when more episodes were announced for the two SpongeBob spin-off series in 2021.
This late order is why some think that season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants was delayed.
There is always the possibility that the 13 extra episodes that Nickelodeon ordered were initially intended for season 14.
Nickelodeon may have moved them forward into season 13 to delay season 14.
Delaying season 14 would allow the SpongeBob team to focus on the other franchise’s projects and better promote them instead of putting that effort into a new season.
Though, this is all speculation.
SpongeBob SquarePants Season 14 Characters
Fans can expect all of their beloved and favorite characters to turn up in season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants at some point.
On July 21st, 2022, at the San Diego Comic-Con, Nickelodeon showcased a first look at The Tidal Zone Dimension.
The clip only featured 3 characters: SpongeBob, Squidward, and Gary the Snail.
Fans can take the clip as confirmation that these characters are still active in the world of SpongeBob Squarepants. So they are likely to show up in season 14 of the show.
This confirmation isn’t a surprise considering that SpongeBob is the show’s title character. Likewise, Gary and Squidward are integral to most of SpongeBob’s wacky adventures.
However, it is good to know that 3 of the show’s most loved characters are practically guaranteed to return for season 14.
Panelists of the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con SpongeBob panel included a few actors from the original series.
These included Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Jill Talley, who play SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and Karen Plankton.
Fans can assume that the actors present at the panel will reprise their starring roles in season 14 of SpongeBob.
The panel also confirmed the return of Mr Krabs (Clancy Brown), Plankton (Mr. Lawrence), and Sandy Cheeks (Carolyn Lawrence).
Read More: SpongeBob SquarePants Character Ages, Heights, and Birthdays
Where Can I Watch Season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants?
Since its first season premiere in 1999, new SpongeBob SquarePants episodes have aired first on Nickelodeon’s TV channel.
More recent seasons have then become available on streaming sites. The most accessible is Amazon Prime, so long as fans also have the Paramount + extensions for the site.
However, seasons typically only become available on streaming sites once all the episodes have been aired on TV to make for a more coherent watching experience.
Season 13 is currently (August 8th, 2022) still not available on Amazon Prime for streaming because of this distribution method.
Fans can first watch season 14 of SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon’s TV channel when the episodes are released.
Then they will have to wait for the season to finish airing to stream the season online.
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