Nickelodeon to Feature IT'S A SPONGEBOB CHRISTMAS Special, 11/23

CBS will present a new stop-motion animated special, IT'S A SPONGEBOB CHRISTMAS!, based on the hit Nickelodeon animated series "SpongeBob SquarePants," on Friday, Nov. 23 (9:30 – 10:00 PM, ET/PT). John Goodman lends his voice to Santa Claus in this special.

As the first stop-animation feature for "SpongeBob SquarePants," IT'S A SPONGEBOB CHRISTMAS! is inspired by the popular song, "Don't be a Jerk, It's Christmas," by Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob SquarePants) and Andy Paley. In this new special, Mr. Krabs' nemesis, Plankton, vows to get his Christmas wish – obtaining the Krusty Krab's secret Krabby Patty formula – by turning everyone bad in Bikini Bottom with the help of his special jerktonium-laced fruitcake.

"SpongeBob SquarePants" chronicles the nautical and sometimes non-sensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge who lives in a two-story pineapple in the sub-surface city of Bikini Bottom.

Since its launch in July 1999, "SpongeBob SquarePants" has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon. The series has been the number-one animated program with kids 2-11 for more than 12 consecutive years on Nickelodeon. Over the past several years, it has averaged more than 100 million total viewers across all Nickelodeon networks.

IT'S A SPONGEBOB CHRISTMAS! was created and executive produced by Stephen Hillenburg and executive produced by Paul Tibbitt, with stop-motion animation directed by Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh and produced by Chris Finnegan of Screen Novelties.