Season 16

File:Skill Crane 176.png	This article is under construction. This article is currently in the middle of an expansion or major revamping. Please help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by contributing to it. Please remove this message when finished.

The sixteenth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, was announced on Cartoonlounge.de on February 22, 2025.

A total of 13 half-hour episodes were produced for this season, all of which were originally meant to be the first half of the show's fifteenth production season.

Season 16 premiered on June 27, 2025 with "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up," and so far, more episodes are yet to be aired.

Production

File:Laifa s15.png

A drawing by Leo Laifa, confirming their return to the show as a storyboard artist.

On August 18, 2024, Leo Laifa confirmed that they had returned to the show as a storyboard artist, providing storyboard plussing on the fifteenth production season. The first episode they would plus was "SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up."

On February 23, 2025, sound effects designer and editor Jeffrey Hutchins announced that he had started working on the first two episode segments of the season, "Bizarro Bottom" and "Squidward's Tough Break," albeit referring to them as "Season 15," due to the series being in its fifteenth production season.

File:Patricksgrillreturns.png

A cropped storyboard featuring Patrick's grill, posted by Dave Cunningham.

On April 12, 2025, supervising director Dave Cunningham posted an image from a storyboard onto Twitter, showing Patrick's grill, under a post from The Art of SpongeBob Twitter account which was talking about the design of said grill.

On September 3, 2025, Jennifer Gleeson confirmed that she had officially joined the main series as a storyboard artist after having previously worked on Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show. The first episode she would plus was "Heart of Garbage." This, however, would be her last plussing job for the franchise, as she left afterwards.

List of episodes

Title card	#	Title	U.S. airdate	U.S. viewers (millions)
File:Bizarro Bottom title card.png	320a	"Bizarro Bottom" (tr • ga)	September 12, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob falls asleep on the bus and ends up in a strange town full of Bikini Bottom doppelgangers.
File:Squidward's Tough Break title card.png	320b	"Squidward's Tough Break" (tr • ga)	September 12, 2025	TBD
	After Squidward loses his memory, he adopts a new tough guy persona.
File:No title card available.png	321a	"Curse of the WereDoodle"	September 19, 2025	TBD
	DoodleBob bites SpongeBob, transforming him into a "WereDoodle."
File:No title card available.png	321b	"Gorilla Suit Day"	September 19, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob dresses up for Gorilla Suit Day and is mistaken for a real gorilla.
File:No title card available.png	322a	"Exchange Student Driver" (ga)	September 26, 2025	TBD
	Mrs. Puff sends SpongeBob far away to a driving school in Klopnod.
File:No title card available.png	322b	"The Kreepy Krab"	September 26, 2025	TBD
	Slappy brings his macabre sensibilities to the Krusty Krab when he's hired there as a server.
File:SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up title card.png	323-324	"SpongeBob and Patrick's Timeline Twist-Up" (tr • ga)	June 27, 2025	N/A
	When Patrick's time closet goes on the fritz, SpongeBob's history is re-written by time traveling interlopers.
File:No title card available.png	325a	"Laundro-Madness"	October 10, 2025	TBD
	Squidward spends a day at the laundromat with his fellow Bikini Bottomites.
File:No title card available.png	325b	"Hog Huntin"	October 10, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob and Patrick must track down Old Man Jenkins' prized worm hog.
File:No title card available.png	326a	"SpongeBob TrashPants"	October 17, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob cleans up Bikini Bottom.
File:No title card available.png	326b	"Krusty Kafeteria"	October 17, 2025	TBD
	The Krusty Krew take on cafeteria duty at Pearl's school.
File:No title card available.png	327a	"The Haunted Bucket"	October 3, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob and Patrick have a spirited Halloween night at the Chum Bucket.
File:No title card available.png	327b	"Go Fetch"	October 3, 2025	TBD
	Gary's favorite ball falls into a monster-filled trench.
File:No title card available.png	328a	"Heart of Garbage"	October 24, 2025	TBD
	SpongeBob and Patrick must search for Squidward after the inside of his home turns into a vast garbage jungle.
File:No title card available.png	328b	"Near-Mint Plankton"	October 24, 2025	TBD
	In his latest secret formula scheme, Plankton disguises himself as a collectible figurine and winds up trapped in Bubble Bass' basement.
File:No title card available.png	329a	"Pardon My Wand"	TBA	TBD
	SpongeBob obtains a magician's wand and accidentally causes magical mayhem wherever he goes.
File:No title card available.png	329b	"Stupor-stition"	TBA	TBD
	On Friday the 13th, Mr. Krabs' extreme superstitions become a disruption for everyone around him.
File:No title card available.png	330	"Pigskin Pearl"	TBA	TBD
	Pearl becomes a star player after joining her high school football team.
File:No title card available.png	331a	"The Green Tentacle"	TBA	TBD
	Sandy seeks Squidward's help to heal her sick tree, but his alternative gardening methods give her a headache.
File:No title card available.png	331b	"Happy Krabby Birthday"	TBA	TBD
	SpongeBob and Squidward search for the perfect birthday present for Mr. Krabs.
File:No title card available.png	332a	"Karate Pals"	TBA	TBD
	The Gal Pals become unstoppable after Sandy teaches them karate. Before long, the entire town has gotten in on the action.
File:No title card available.png	332b	"Karen's Klatch"	TBA	TBD
	Plankton infiltrates a party thrown by Karen for her computer friends, but Karen quickly uncovers his ruse.

Trivia

• This season contains episodes from the first half of the show's fifteenth production season.
• This season marks the first of a couple things:
  • The first full season to have Shane Richardson as the sole art director of the series.
    • He was previously credited as co-art director in season 15 (beginning with "Pablum Plankton") alongside the late Peter Bennett, who was posthumously credited after his passing on May 17, 2024.
      • This also marks the first season without any involvement from Bennett.
  • The first season to premiere in the same year that it was announced in.
  • The first season to begin with a special in broadcasting order.
    • Although season 5's first episode in production order was a special, it was not the first to air in that season.
• This is the third season of the main series to premiere after the previous season concluded, after seasons 4 and 14.