| SpongeBob SquarePants | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 26 (47 segments) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | March 26, 2011 – December 6, 2012 |
| Season chronology | |
The eighth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from March 26, 2011, to December 6, 2012, and contained 26 half-hour episodes, with a miniseries titled SpongeBob's Runaway Roadtrip. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg and writer Paul Tibbitt, who also acted as the showrunner. In 2011, SpongeBob's Runaway Roadtrip, an anthology series consisting of five episodes from the season, was launched.
The show itself received several recognitions, including the 2011 and 2012 Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Cartoon. The series was also nominated in various international Kids' Choice Awards ceremonies for the same category. At the 39th Daytime Emmy Awards the show received four nominations—including Outstanding Children's Animated Program, Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program, Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles, and Outstanding Sound Editing -Animation. At the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards, the series was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Animation. The show won the BAFTA Children's Awards for the International category. The episode "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!" was well received at the 40th Annie Awards, being nominated for three categories, including a successful win for Dan Driscoll for the Character Animation in an Animated Television or other Broadcast Venue Production category. In 2012, it was reported that the show was receiving a decline in ratings. The Wall Street Journal pointed to a few possible problems: It could be too old, or it may be shown on TV too often.[1] Another issue could be its licensing to Netflix, an on-demand Internet streaming media, the previous year. As a result, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced not to renew their existing deal with Viacom, owner of the SpongeBob trademark. Since then, Viacom's deal with Netflix expired, removed its shows such as SpongeBob, and Dora the Explorer, and moved its programmings to Amazon.com, Netflix's top competitor, and later CBS All Access.
Several compilation DVDs that contained episodes from the season were released. The SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Eighth Season DVD was released in region 1 on March 12, 2013, region 2 on October 28, 2013, and region 4 on October 30, 2013.