Hello, SpongeBob

SpongeBob SquarePants is genuinely one of the great comic creations of the last few decades—an absurdist workplace sitcom set underwater, built around the gap between enthusiasm and competence. The show launched in 1999 and held its edge far longer than most animated series manage, largely because creator Stephen Hillenburg understood that the funniest thing about SpongeBob isn’t his stupidity but his sincerity. He always means it. That total commitment, surrounded by characters ranging from venal to indifferent to actively cruel, is what makes the whole thing work.