A SpongeBob Squarepants spin-off about Squidward is coming to Netflix
14 November 2019, 15:59
A Squidward Tentacles "music-based project" is heading to Netflix. This comes after Netflix and Nickelodeon announced a new partnership that will see them collaborate on content based on new and existing Nickelodeon characters.
This week, Netflix and Viacom-owned Nickelodeon announced a multi-year partnership that would see them team up for original shows and films based on existing and new Nickelodeon characters. Even though news of the deal only landed this week, we already have confirmation that a SpongeBob Squarepants spin-off is in the works at Netflix. According to The New York Times, the newly-announced deal between Netflix and Nickelodeon will include a spin-off based on Squidward.
The New York Times also reports that it will be "a music-based project".
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Squidward has been a Bikini Bottom mainstay since SpongeBob Squarepants first premiered in 1999. The octopus, who plays the clarinet, is also SpongeBob's next-door neighbour and colleague at the Krusty Krab.
"Nickelodeon has generated scores of characters that kids love, and we look forward to telling wholly original stories that re-imagine and expand on the worlds they inhabit," Netflix vice president of original animation, Melissa Cobb, said of the partnership.
Many a storyline has revolved around the tense dynamic between SpongeBob and Squidward, and the character was even the subject of a meme/creepypasta that was parodied in the most recent season of the show. At this point, it is unclear if original characters like SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy Cheeks, or Mr. Krabs will appear in the spin-off.
It is also unclear if this will be a series, a one-off special, or a film.
Netflix has already released original content based on Viacom-owned properties. Earlier this year Netflix released Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, a 45-minute special that aired two decades after the original Rocko's Modern Life Nickelodeon series went off the air.
Non-originals include Netflix's recent addition of Victorious to its catalogue.
The streaming wars are well and truly underway after Disney+ managed to bag10 million subscribers in its first day. It's no surprise that nostalgia-driven content is on the docket for Netflix as it braces for the streampocalypse.
