Nickelodeon and Netflix agreed to a partnership between the two studios to help create a Spongebob Squarepants spin-off series that is set to focus on the very own Squidward Tentacles. According to the NY Times, the Squidward spin off will be “a music-based project” that will involve a collaboration between studio animators and consist of “telling wholly original stories that re-imagine and expand on the worlds they [Nickelodeon characters] inhabit,” (Melissa Cobb, Netflix’s Vice President of Original Animation). Other than this, there is no other type of information that has been revealed in relation to the show since much of its material is still under wraps as it continues in an early development stage.
Nickelodeon’s deal with Netflix which was announced last Wednesday is a multi-year deal that will allow for an untold amount of projects that are set to expand on old and create new characters in both film and television series. The original deal with Nickelodeon came out to approximately 200 million dollars for the children animation network. Netflix has already begun to air shows from the television network to help counter its competitiveness with shows like Victorious and Sam& Cat. Nickelodeon President, Brian Robbins stated in Press Release “Nickelodeon’s next step forward is to keep expanding beyond linear platforms, and our broader content partnership with Netflix is a key path toward that goal,”
The decision to proceed with the agreement between the two companies comes as a way to be able to compete with the rise in streaming services, including AppleTV+, HBO, Amazon but mainly with the recent popularity associated with Disney+. Which came online last week with the biggest amounts of people to subscribe to its platform (approximately 10 million on the first day and with downloads of the Disney+ app reaching 3.2 million times, according to The Verge)