Nickelodeon Removes 'SpongeBob' Episode About Virus With Quarantine

EL NEUVO DIARIO, LOS ANGELES.- The television channel Nickelodeon will not broadcast an episode of the last season of "SpongeBob SquarePants" because it considers that it could be problematic for some audiences when dealing with an imaginary virus that requires a quarantine.

The chapter is titled "Kwarantined Krab" (something like crab quarantine) and in it the protagonists must remain in quarantine before a possible outbreak of "clam flu" that emerged in a fast food restaurant.

“We have decided not to air it due to sensitivities around the real-world pandemic,” a company spokesperson explained.

The episode will not be broadcast on television and will also not be available on streaming platforms such as Amazon and Paramont+.

The last season of “SpongeBob SquarePants”, number 12, began production in 2017, so it is likely that the plot about the virus was written before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, although Nickelodeon did not give details about its start date. exact production.

It is not the only episode withdrawn from the series, as the spokesman also confirmed that another one in which SpongeBob, Patrick and Mr. Krabs break into a woman's house and steal her underwear after a night at the casino is no longer available. .

The episode was removed "after a standards review in which we determined that some elements of the story were not appropriate for children," the company said.

Premiering on May 1, 1999, “SpongeBob SquarePants” has been on the air worldwide for more than two decades. Its popularity has spawned a Broadway musical, several movies, and a spin-off series featuring the protagonists as children.