Dexter's Laboratory (commonly abbreviated as Dexter's Lab) is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovskyand produced by Cartoon Network Studios (also co-produced with Hanna-Barbera from 1996-2001). The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions. The series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on April 28, 1996 and ended on November 20, 2003. As of 2006, Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerangnow reruns the show.
The series initially debuted on the What a Cartoon! Show as a cartoon short and later became the first of said program to be adapted into its own stand-alone show, as well as Cartoon Network's second original television series (after Space Ghost: Coast to Coast). Each 22-minute episode consists of two to three segments (with the exception of the initial series finale). Dexter's Laboratory originally ended in 1998 after two seasons, but it was later revived for a TV movie, and, even later, two more seasons.
Dexter's Laboratory is notable for helping launch the careers of several cartoon creators such as Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane,Butch Hartman, Bob Boyle, Scott Fellows, and Rob Renzetti.