Nick's 'SpongeBob SquarePants’ Episode Draws 5.2 Million Viewers

More than 5 million viewers tuned in to Nickelodeon Monday night to watch SpongeBob SquarePants get unceremoniously fired from his steady job at the Krusty Krab.  

The Nov. 12 SpongeBob SquarePants episode “SpongeBob, You’re Fired’ drew 5.4 million viewers and was the most watched episode of the popular animated series over the past two years, according to Nick. The episode also finished the night as the msot watched cable show among every major kids demo, according to network officials.

Prior to its premiere, media outlets debated the episode's political undertones regarding how the hard-working SpongeBob deals with being unemployed.