Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show are the two SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off series, both launched in 2021: the first is a CGI prequel about the characters' childhood, the second a comedy in which Patrick hosts his own TV show. Their situations differ today: Kamp Koral stopped at two seasons and no third has been ordered, while The Patrick Star Show has been renewed through a season 7 announced for 2027.
SpongeBob is no longer alone. Since 2021, the Bikini Bottom universe has expanded with two spin-offs: Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years and The Patrick Star Show. This article takes stock of both: what they are, what sets them apart from the original series, and why adult fans should (or should not) watch them.
🏕️ Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021)
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years premiered on Paramount+ on 4 March 2021, the same day as the film Sponge on the Run. It is a prequel to the original series that imagines SpongeBob at the age of 10, at the undersea summer camp Kamp Koral, surrounded by young versions of his future friends and enemies. The episodes were later rerun on Nickelodeon, on a delay compared with the platform.
The concept — A summer camp at the bottom of the ocean, run by Mr. Krabs, already money-driven. You find young versions of Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, plus Pearl and Larry the Lobster. The idea is to explore the origins of the friendships and rivalries that structure the original series.
Visual style — The series is entirely CGI, a choice that sets it apart from the original 2D cartoon. Animation was handled by the studio Mikros Animation. The decision was debated from the announcement onward: some fans consider the charm of the original series inseparable from its 2D, others find that CGI gives the characters new life. The colourful Bikini Bottom palette, for its part, is respected.
The voices — The main series' cast reprise their roles, including Tom Kenny as SpongeBob and Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick. Even in CGI, the characters sound the way we know them.
What works — The dynamics between the child versions are often well judged: a Patrick even more naive than his adult counterpart, a Sandy already fiercely competitive, a SpongeBob who already carries every seed of his future personality.
What divides — The prequel raises continuity questions. The main series contains several flashbacks about the characters' childhoods, and they do not all agree with one another: that is the ground on which fans argue about Kamp Koral's continuity. We deliberately cite no specific episode, because the versions circulating online contradict each other.
Where the series stands — Two seasons were produced. No third season has been ordered to date. The last new episodes aired in 2025 on Nickelodeon, and the season 2 finale was presented as a possible series finale. Note: no official cancellation has been announced, the series is simply on hold.
⭐ The Patrick Star Show (2021)
The Patrick Star Show launched on Nickelodeon on 9 July 2021. The approach is radically different. It is neither a prequel nor a continuation, but a meta series in which Patrick Star hosts his own talk show from the family home, with his family as crew and audience.
The concept — Patrick lives with his parents, Cecil and Bunny Star, his sister Squidina and his grandfather GrandPat. Each episode is built like a show hosted by Patrick: sketches, musical segments, visual madness. The series pushes the absurd further than the original.
The meta humour is its trademark. It mocks its own television conventions, breaks the fourth wall and explores forms the original series does not attempt. Its humour is more self-referential, and therefore easier to read for an audience that already knows the franchise.
The Star family is one of its successes. Cecil and Bunny were barely sketched in the original series; the spin-off gives them real comic substance. Squidina, serious and constantly exasperated by her brother, acts as a counterweight to Patrick's chaos.
What divides — The series sometimes suffers from an excess of chaos. Where SpongeBob balanced the absurd with a solid structure, The Patrick Star Show can feel disorganised. That is the risk of a format defined by the absence of rules.
Where the series stands — It continues. Four seasons have aired, the fourth from March 2025. In October 2024, Nickelodeon ordered seasons 4 and 5. In June 2026, the channel announced a new cycle of 26 half-hours covering seasons 6 and 7, with season 6 expected in the last quarter of 2026 and season 7 in 2027. It is currently the franchise's most solid spin-off.
Team Patrick: extend the universe at home
These items do not come from the shows, but they extend the Bikini Bottom universe day to day 🌊
🔍 Comparison: the main series and its two spin-offs
The two spin-offs have very different DNA despite their shared origin.
| Series | Launch year | Period depicted | Main character | Recommended age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpongeBob SquarePants (main series) | 1999 | Bikini Bottom, adult characters | SpongeBob | 6 and up |
| Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years | 2021 | The characters' childhood, at summer camp | SpongeBob aged 10 | 6 and up |
| The Patrick Star Show | 2021 | Not precisely placed: Patrick lives with his parents | Patrick Star | 8 and up |
The « recommended age » column is our editorial recommendation, not an official rating. We raise the age for The Patrick Star Show only because its humour rests on television references a six-year-old will not catch.
Kamp Koral is a classic family spin-off, more accessible to young children. The Patrick Star Show is riskier and better suited to teenagers and adults. Kamp Koral is also more directly tied to the original series, while The Patrick Star Show can be watched almost independently. To get the characters straight before you start, our profile of Patrick Star covers the essentials.
🌊 Are these spin-offs « canon »?
The question divides fans. Strictly speaking, both series are official productions and belong to the extended SpongeBob universe. But SpongeBob canon has always been flexible: the original series itself contains contradictions and episodes outside any strict continuity.
Most fans distinguish two levels: the early seasons and the 2004 film, made under Stephen Hillenburg's direct supervision, on one side; everything that came afterwards on the other. Both spin-offs belong to the second category. You can enjoy them without treating them as definitive revelations about the characters.
A word on a sentence you read everywhere: Hillenburg was supposedly « opposed to spin-offs ». Showrunner Vincent Waller publicly explained that the original wording was closer to « I don't see any spin-offs », which is not a refusal, and that Hillenburg knew Kamp Koral was in development. Hillenburg died on 26 November 2018, before the series was released. The debate remains open, but it rests on a quote far less clear-cut than commonly claimed.
📺 Where to watch Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show?
Kamp Koral launched exclusively on Paramount+ before reaching Nickelodeon. The Patrick Star Show took the opposite route: Nickelodeon first, Paramount+ afterwards.
One useful caveat: catalogues change regularly and availability varies from one country to another. So we do not give a list of platforms valid for France. Check directly before subscribing for a single series. Our guide on where to watch SpongeBob in streaming sets out the method.
🎬 In what order should you watch SpongeBob and its spin-offs?
Release order, the one we recommend
Start with the main series, from 1999. Then move on to the spin-offs in order of release: Kamp Koral (March 2021) then The Patrick Star Show (July 2021). That is the order the writers worked in, and therefore the order the jokes are calibrated for.
Why the story's chronological order is not the right one
On paper, chronological order would give: Kamp Koral, then the main series, then The Patrick Star Show. It is tempting and it is a bad idea. Kamp Koral is written for viewers who already know the adult versions: almost every gag rests on the gap between the child you see and the adult you know. Watched first, that spring falls flat. Same problem for The Patrick Star Show, whose meta humour assumes familiarity with the franchise's codes.
What each spin-off really brings
Kamp Koral brings a new setting. The camp allows situations Bikini Bottom does not: group challenges, cabins, team rivalries. It is also the franchise's first full series in CGI.
The Patrick Star Show brings characters and a format. The Star family was almost virgin territory in the universe; the series fills it in.
Why some long-time fans reject them
Three arguments come back, and they deserve to be laid out without arbitration. The first is aesthetic: Kamp Koral's CGI jars with viewers attached to 2D. The second is narrative: showing the childhood of characters whose mystery was part of the charm shrinks the universe rather than expanding it. The third is moral: these series were completed after the creator's death, which raises a question of legitimacy.
The supporters' argument is simple: these are comedies for children, made by teams who were already working on the main series, and nobody erased the older seasons. Both positions hold up. We will not settle it.
Who each one is for
For a child aged 6 to 9 discovering the universe: the main series first, Kamp Koral next. For a nostalgic teenager or adult: The Patrick Star Show. For a continuity fan: release order, no exceptions. To laugh for twenty minutes with no commitment: any episode of The Patrick Star Show, no narrative prerequisites.
🎁 For spin-off fans: extending the universe day to day
Whatever your favourite series, the Bikini Bottom universe stays the same. Our Patrick-themed items are grouped in the Team Patrick collection; posters, figurines and plush toys each have their own aisle.
Two honest points. Our products are not items taken from the shows and do not reproduce the spin-offs' designs: they are items inspired by the universe, sold by an independent shop. And on shipping: €5.90 in France and the European Union, free from €60 per order, €7 outside the EU, with a 7 to 14 working-day delivery time.
❓ Frequently asked questions
In what order should you watch SpongeBob and its spin-offs?
In release order: the main series from 1999, then Kamp Koral (March 2021), then The Patrick Star Show (July 2021). Chronological story order would put Kamp Koral first, but its gags assume you already know the adult characters.
Is it over?
Not for both. Kamp Koral stopped after two seasons, with no third season ordered: the season 2 finale, aired in 2025, was presented as a possible series finale, but no official cancellation has been announced. The Patrick Star Show, on the other hand, continues: after an order for seasons 4 and 5 in October 2024, a new cycle was announced in June 2026 for seasons 6 and 7, due in late 2026 and in 2027.
Do you need to have watched the main series first?
It is not compulsory, but it is strongly recommended. Kamp Koral makes more sense when you know the adult versions of the characters. The Patrick Star Show is packed with references to the franchise that only land for an audience already familiar with it.
Is Kamp Koral a sequel or a prequel to SpongeBob?
It is a prequel. The series takes place when SpongeBob is 10 years old, before the events of the original series.
Is The Patrick Star Show made for children or adults?
Both, at different levels. Its absurd humour works for children, but its play with television formats is mostly appreciated by teenagers and adults.
Are there other SpongeBob spin-off projects?
Yes, but on the film side rather than the series side. Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie was released on Netflix on 2 August 2024, and Plankton: The Movie on 7 March 2025. A fourth theatrical feature, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, reached cinemas in December 2025. No third spin-off series has been announced to date.
Does Kamp Koral respect Stephen Hillenburg's vision?
This is the most debated point, and it rests on a frequently distorted quote. Showrunner Vincent Waller explained that Hillenburg had said he did not see any spin-offs, which is not the same as opposition, and that he knew Kamp Koral was in development. Hillenburg died in November 2018, before it aired. Fans remain divided.
