Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated science fiction television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows Dexter, an enthusiastic boy-genius with a science laboratory in his bedroom, which he keeps secret from his unsuspecting parents. Dexter is at constant odds with his older and more extraverted sister Dee Dee, who regularly accesses the laboratory and inadvertently foils his experiments. Mandark, a nefarious boy-genius classmate who lives next-door to Dexter, attempts to undermine him at every opportunity. Prominently featured in the first and second seasons are other segments focusing on superhero-based characters Monkey, Dexter's pet lab-monkey with a superhero alter ego, and the Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes who share an apartment.

Tartakovsky pitched the series to Fred Seibert's animated shorts showcase What a Cartoon! at Hanna-Barbera, basing it on student films he produced at the California Institute of the Arts. Four pilots aired on Cartoon Network and TNT from 1995 to 1996. Viewer approval ratings led to a half-hour series, which consisted of two seasons totaling 52 episodes, airing from April 27, 1996, to June 15, 1998. Dexter's Laboratory was the first original series for the channel under the Cartoon Cartoons moniker. On December 10, 1999, a television film titled Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip aired as the intended series finale, after which Tartakovsky focused his work on another series for Cartoon Network, Samurai Jack.

In February 2001, a third season was announced, which began airing on November 18, with a fourth season following in 2002. Due to Tartakovsky's departure, Chris Savino served as showrunner, and a new team at Cartoon Network Studios produced the series. The fourth season concluded on November 20, 2003, ending the series.