Question: Who created the television series of which "SpongeBob, You're Fired" is a television special?
Context: In addition to the show's regular cast of voice actors, guest stars have been featured on "SpongeBob SquarePants", an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon.  "SpongeBob SquarePants" chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom.  Many of the ideas for the show originated in an unpublished, educational comic book titled "The Intertidal Zone", which Hillenburg created in the mid-1980s.  He began developing "SpongeBob SquarePants" into a television series in 1996 upon the cancellation of "Rocko's Modern Life", which Hillenburg directed.  The pilot episode first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 1, 1999.  The show's ninth season premiered in 2012, and episodes of "SpongeBob SquarePants" have aired.  A feature-length film adaptation of the show, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie", was released in 2004; in 2015, a sequel, "", was released. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is a 2015 American 3D live-action/animated comedy film based on the animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants".  A stand-alone sequel to "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (2004), it was directed by former series showrunner Paul Tibbitt in his directorial debut, with live-action sequences directed by Mike Mitchell.  It was the first film to be produced by Paramount Animation and second film in the "SpongeBob SquarePants" film series.  The film stars Antonio Banderas and features the show's regular voice cast, who returned to reprise their respective roles from the series and the previous film.  The plot follows a pirate called Burger-Beard, who steals the Krabby Patty secret formula using a magical book that makes any text written upon it come true.  SpongeBob and his friends must travel to the surface to confront Burger-Beard and get the formula back. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and currently distributed by Universal Television.  It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of "The General Electric Fantasy Hour".  The special was based on the Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May.  Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS, with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005.  As with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rudolph" no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season on CBS.  Unlike other holiday specials that also air on several cable channels (including Freeform), "Rudolph" only airs on CBS.  It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special in history.  2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the television special and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014. SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon.  The series chronicles the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom.  The series' popularity has made it a media franchise, as well as the highest rated series to ever air on Nickelodeon, and the most distributed property of MTV Networks.  As of 2015, the media franchise has generated $12 billion in merchandising revenue for Nickelodeon. SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D (also known as SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D Ride, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride or SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D) is a cel-shaded 4-D film based upon the popular television series "SpongeBob SquarePants".  It can be found at many aquariums and theme parks across the world.  The ride consists of a pre-show which then leads into a stadium seated auditorium.  The ride is in 4-D, meaning it is a motion simulator with a 3D movie.  The effects on the ride vary at different parks.  Water spray, bubbles, wind, leg ticklers, smoke, and smells are usually found. The sixth season of the American animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants", created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon from March 3, 2008 to July 5, 2010, and contained 26 episodes, beginning with the episode "Krabby Road".  The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom.  The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg and supervising producer Paul Tibbitt, who also acted as the showrunner.  In 2009, the show celebrated its tenth anniversary on television.  The documentary film titled "" premiered on July 17, 2009, and marked the anniversary. " SpongeBob's Truth or Square", a television film, and the special episode "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants" were broadcast on Nickelodeon, as part of the celebration. "SpongeBob SquarePants" is an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon.  The series is set in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, and centers on the adventures and endeavors of SpongeBob SquarePants, an over-optimistic sea sponge that annoys other characters.  Many of the ideas for the show originated in an unpublished, educational comic book titled "The Intertidal Zone", which Hillenburg created in the mid-1980s.  He began developing "SpongeBob SquarePants" into a television series in 1996 after the cancellation of "Rocko's Modern Life", another Nickelodeon television series which Hillenburg previously directed. SpongeBob SquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula is a platform action video game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by THQ for the Game Boy Color handheld video game console.  The game was released in the United States on March 14, 2001, and in Europe on May 4, 2001.  The game's story centers on SpongeBob SquarePants, a sea sponge who lives in the undersea town of Bikini Bottom and works for Mr. Krabs as the fry cook of the Krusty Krab fast food restaurant.  SpongeBob is destined to become the ocean's greatest fry cook, and must embark on a quest to retrieved a "golden spatula" from the Flying Dutchman, a pirate ghost.  The game features platforming-style gameplay, as well as many characters from the television series.  This is the only 8-bit SpongeBob game and the only SpongeBob video game on the Game Boy Color.  A sequel, was released in November 2001 for the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. "SpongeBob, You're Fired" is a television special of the American animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants".  It serves as the 11th episode of the ninth season and the 189th overall episode.  The animation directors were the supervising director, Alan Smart and Tom Yasumi, and was written by Marc Ceccarelli, Luke Brookshier, and Mr. Lawrence.  Ceccarelli and Brookshier also served as storyboard directors.  The episode originally aired in Greece on July 3, 2013.  In the United States, it aired on Nickelodeon on November 11.  In this episode of the series, which follows the adventures and endeavors of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob gets fired from the Krusty Krab after Mr. Krabs discovers he can save a nickel by eliminating him.  SpongeBob subsequently decides to apply at other restaurants. "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"  is the 23rd episode of the eighth season, and the 175th episode overall, of the American animated television series "SpongeBob SquarePants".  It originally aired on CBS in the United States on November 23, 2012, and on Nickelodeon on December 6.  In the special, Plankton tries to convince SpongeBob to transform everybody in Bikini Bottom into jerks by feeding them his special jerktonium-laced fruitcakes in order to get his Christmas wishthe Krabby Patty secret formula.
Answer: Stephen Hillenburg