 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 episodes , beginning with the episodes " A Friendly Game " and " Oral Report " . 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 . 
