A 20-year-old episode of SpongeBob SquarePants is back on streaming after being banned for inappropriate content. Premiered in 1999, the beloved cartoon is still airing new episodes to this day, currently in the midst of its thirteenth season on Nickelodeon, though old episodes remain just as popular as fans re-watch their favorites via streaming. However, SpongeBob SquarePants season 3, episode 15, titled “Mid-Life Crustacean”, has not been available on streaming for years due to inappropriate content.
Now, as confirmed by Collider and several other sites, the banned SpongeBob SquarePants episode is officially back on Paramount+, and likely more streaming services to come. No official reason has been provided as to why the episode is returning to streaming after years of being banned due to content deemed inappropriate for children.
SpongeBob SquarePants season three, episode 15, originally aired on January 24, 2003, and was part of the cartoon’s regular cable syndication for 15 years. However, the controversial episode was pulled from Nickelodeon in 2018 because it was deemed “inappropriate for young children” upon review. In 2021, Paramount+ followed suit by removing SpongeBob SquarePants episodes from its streaming catalog, along with Season 12, Episode 22, “Kwarantined Krab”, which was deemed insensitive in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode “Mid-Life Crustacean” also became unavailable for purchase on Amazon Prime Video.
The episode in question shows Mr. Krabs participating in a “panty raid” with SpongeBob and Patrick in an attempt to treat his mid-life crisis and regain his sense of youth. While Nickelodeon never said why the episode was banned, it is likely to be because of the “panties attack” scene, which is arguably inappropriate for a children’s show. In the end, the three of them are actually raiding Mr. Krabs, so the scene is played off as silly more than anything else, which is why Paramount+ may have decided to bring back the banned SpongeBob SquarePants episode.