Starting with "Lost in Bikini Bottom", Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller became the supervising producers and showrunners and served in that position for the rest of the season.

This season marks the show's transition to 1080i HDTV by now having episodes produced and aired in widescreen (16:9), the native aspect ratio of high-definition.

[5] On July 21, 2012, the season premiered with the episode "Extreme Spots"/"Squirrel Record" during a SpongeBob SquarePants television marathon event called "The Super Spongy Square Games".

[6][7] The episode "Extreme Spots" was written by Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, and Derek Iversen, while Tom Yasumi served as animation director.

[12] Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Casey Alexander, Josh Androsky, Brookshier, Ceccarelli, Zeus Cervas, Daniel Dominguez, Solomon Georgio, Andrew Goodman, Iversen, Clare O'Kane, Kyle McCulloch, Mr. Lawrence, Blake Lemons, Jack Pendarvis, and Kaz.

The season was storyboarded by Alexander, Chris Allison, Ed Baker, Brookshier, Bob Camp, Ceccarelli, Cervas, Ryan Kramer, Chong Lee, Blake Lemons, Brian Morante, Lynne Naylor, Shellie O'Brien, Fred Osmond, Howie Perry, John Trabbic, and Joe Wierenga.

[13] Season nine resumed when a new two-segment episode led into the 2015 Kids' Choice Sports on July 16, 2015; Viacom claimed at the beginning of the year that several new episodes would premiere over the summer of 2015, but only "Lost in Bikini Bottom"/"Tutor Sauce" and "Squid Plus One"/"The Executive Treatment" aired before the end of Labor Day on September 7, which is the effective end of Nickelodeon's summer season.

The ninth season featured Tom Kenny as the voice of the title character SpongeBob SquarePants and his pet snail Gary.

Puff, SpongeBob's boating school teacher;[21] and Lori Alan as Pearl, a teenage whale who is Mr. Krabs' daughter.

[22][23] In addition to the regular cast members, episodes feature guest voices from many ranges of professions, including actors, musicians, and artists.

[27][28] Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway returned, reprising their respective roles as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in "Patrick-Man!".

[29] The episode also marked as being Conway's final voice-over work for the series before his death on May 14, 2019, at the age of 85, though he returned to the franchise as the voice of a seagull in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, released in 2015.

[30][31] The characters were retired after this episode due to Borgnine's death prior to its release and have since been reduced to silent background cameos.

In "License to Milkshake", comedian and Spinal Tap band member Michael McKean guest starred as the voice of Captain Frostymug.

[34] In "The Executive Treatment", an American stage actor, comedian and director, Frank Ferrante, guest-starred as the voice of Stockholder Eel.

In "Mall Girl Pearl", comedian legend Betty White and Aubrey Plaza guest starred as the voices of Beatrice and Nocturna.

[44] In 2013, the episode "SpongeBob You're Fired" was criticized for its line that refers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps benefit).

"[45][46] The scene was meant to demonstrate the title character's "eternal optimism and willingness to get back to work", and "do it in a way that's still funny and relatable".

[50][51] In response to Fox News, Media Matters immediately posted an item titled "Right-Wing Media Use SpongeBob SquarePants' Firing To Attack Social Safety Net", arguing that the talking heads "are using the firing of fictional cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants to attack the social safety net and those who rely on it".

Media Matters was "also particularly bothered by [a] line from The Post story: "Lest he sit around idly, mooching off the social services of Bikini Bottom, a depressed SpongeBob sets out to return to gainful employment wherever he can find it," reporter Andrea Morabito wrote.

[48][50] Furthermore, the coverage from Fox News prompted civil rights activist, and talk show host Al Sharpton of MSNBC to "stick up for poor Americans".

[53][54] Sharpton remarked in the October 31 episode of PoliticsNation, "The right-wingers found a new hero in its war against the poor [...] SpongeBob SquarePants.

[54] However, Russell Hicks of Nickelodeon said the show is "tapping into the news of the moment, but did not specifically address any political leanings or ideologies within the episode".

[46] In a statement, Hicks said "Like all really great cartoons, part of SpongeBob's long-running success has been its ability to tap into the zeitgeist while still being really funny for our audience.

He attempts to stop crimes in Bikini Bottom, doing more harm than good, until he unmasks the Dirty Bubble in the Krusty Krab.

He is viewed as fancy and mature, hanging out with a group of wealthy friends, but is conflicted when the Mermaid Man movie he wants to watch is deemed too childish.

"The Fish Bowl": Sandy reads a book on behavioral psychology, and sets up an observation to see how SpongeBob and Patrick act.