 SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon . The series chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom . The series ' popularity has made it a media franchise , as well as the highest rated series to ever air on Nickelodeon , and the most distributed property of MTV Networks . The media franchise has generated $ 8 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon . 
