In addition to the show's regular cast of voice actors, guest stars have been featured on SpongeBob SquarePants, an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. SpongeBob SquarePants chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Many of the ideas for the show originated in an unpublished, educational comic book titled The Intertidal Zone, which Hillenburg created in the mid-1980s. He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996 upon the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life, which Hillenburg directed.[1][2] The pilot episode first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 1, 1999.[3] The show's thirteenth and current season premiered in 2020, and 276 episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants have aired. A series of theatrical films based on the show began in 2004 with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.
Guest voices have come from many ranges of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, musicians, and artists. The first credited guest stars were McHale's Navy actors Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway, who appeared in "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (I)", the show's sixth episode. Borgnine and Conway have since been featured as recurring characters on the show until 2012. Rock band Ghastly Ones were the first guest stars to appear as themselves, appearing for a special musical performance in the first-season episode "Scaredy Pants". Aside from the aforementioned actors, actress Marion Ross has a recurring role as Grandma SquarePants, SpongeBob's grandmother. Borgnine has made the most appearances, guest starring 16 times. Conway has made 15 guest appearances, while Ross has appeared four times, John O'Hurley appeared three times, and John Rhys-Davies has appeared twice. Michael McKean has also appeared twice, voicing different characters.
Hillenburg "deliberately avoided" inviting guest stars onto the show, saying that "we only would cast someone if they came right out of the story."[4] A number of guest stars agreed to appear on the show after being convinced by their children who are SpongeBob SquarePants fans, while others accept because they are fans of the show themselves. Casting associate Sarah Noonan, who is responsible for casting guest stars on the show, has received three Artios Award nominations (with one win) from the Casting Society of America. As of May 4, 2016[update], there have been 78 guest stars on the show,[A] with this figure rising to 84 if The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and its sequels are included.
- ^ Hillenburg, Stephen (2003). The Origin of SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete First Season (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
- ^ Banks, Steven (September 24, 2004). SpongeBob Exposed! The Insider's Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants. Schigiel, Gregg (Illustrator). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-689-86870-2.
- ^ Gates, Anita (July 11, 1999). "Television / Radio; The Tide Pool as Talent Pool (It Had to Happen)". New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ Cavna, Michael (July 14, 2009). "The Interview: SpongeBob Creator Stephen Hillenburg". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2013.