SpongeBob SquarePants was created in the late 1990s and first appeared on TV in 1999.

Quick Scoop: When was SpongeBob “made”?

  • The character SpongeBob was developed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg in the mid‑to‑late 1990s, based on his earlier tide‑pool comic “The Intertidal Zone.”
  • The first episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, the pilot “Help Wanted,” premiered on May 1, 1999.
  • The series is often said to have its official launch in July 1999, when the regular run of episodes began on Nickelodeon.
  • From that 1999 start, SpongeBob grew into a huge global franchise with TV seasons, movies, and tons of merchandise.

So if you’re asking “when was SpongeBob made,” most people point to 1999 as the year he really arrived on TV and became the character we know today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.