SpongeBob SquarePants is the cheerful, childlike yellow sea sponge at the center of the Nickelodeon animated comedy that premiered in 1999. He lives in a pineapple in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom and works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, where he makes Krabby Patty burgers. Created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg, he is voiced by Tom Kenny across a series that ran for 17 seasons.