Murray combed through his sketchbooks, developed the Rocko's Modern Life concept, and submitted it to Nickelodeon, believing that the concept would likely be rejected. Murray developed the Rocko character after visiting a zoo in the Bay Area and coming across a wallaby that seemed to be oblivious to the chaos around him. It aimed to appeal to college students and parents as much as children. At the time, Nickelodeon was selling itself as a network based as much around edge as around kids’ entertainment. Murray was unsure at first, but was inspired by independent animation around him, such as Animation Celebration and MTV's Liquid Television, and gave the network a shot. He then researched Nickelodeon at the library and found that Nickelodeon's "attitude was different than regular TV." The cable network providers were "making their own rules": for example, Murray stated that he "didn't write for children," which the executives were fine with. He then told her that he believed that My Dog Zero would not work as a cartoon. Simensky told him that Nicktoons differed from other cartoons. He originally felt skepticism towards the concept of creating a Nicktoon as he disliked television cartoons. Linda Simensky, then in charge of animation development in Nickelodeon, described the Nicktoons lineup and concept to Murray.
The industry was coming out of a " rough period" and Murray wanted to "shake things up a bit." Murray had never worked in television before. He presented a pencil test to Nickelodeon, which afterward became interested in buying and financing the show. Murray wanted funding for his independent film My Dog Zero, so he wanted Nickelodeon to pre-buy television rights for the series. We took some chances that would be hard to do in these current times (the 1990s)". He described the early 1990s animation atmosphere as "ripe for this kind of project. Many other characters appeared in various sketchbooks. Murray tried selling the comic book in the late 1980s, between illustrating jobs, and did not find success in getting it into production. Originally, the character appeared in an unpublished comic book titled Travis.
The series also has over time developed a devoted following of fans, making many commentators deem it a cult television show. Rocko's Modern Life generally received positive reviews during its original broadcast run and in recent years has seen renewed praise for sophisticated and subversive humor.
After the show's completion, much of the staff regrouped to work on SpongeBob SquarePants, created by producer Stephen Hillenburg. Produced by Games Animation and Joe Murray Productions, the show premiered on Septemand ended on November 24, 1996. The show was the fourth Nicktoon to premiere. In addition, Murray picked a large amount of newcomer voice actors, such as Tom Kenny and Carlos Alazraqui, who have in recent years gone on to become very popular. The show's animations stylistically feature crooked architecture. The network gave the staff of the program a large amount of creative freedom, the writers targeting both children and adults. Joe Murray initially created the title character for an unpublished comic book series in the late 1980s, and later reluctantly pitched the series to Nickelodeon, who was looking for edgier cartoonists for their new Nicktoons block. The show is laden with adult humor, including double entendres, innuendos, and satirical social commentary. Originally from Australia, the show explores his American life as well as the lives of his friends: the gluttonous steer Heffer, the neurotic turtle Filburt, and Rocko's faithful dingodog, Spunky. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town. The show aired for four seasons between 19 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray.