The twelfth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, began airing on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 11, 2018. 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. The showrunners for this season are Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, who are also the co-executive producers. This was the last season Hillenburg was involved in before his death on November 26, 2018.