Samurai Jack is produced by Genndy Tartakovsky: the creator of Dexter's Laboratory. The 31-year-old artist states his inspiration for Jack, ''I've watched cartoons all my life and I've never been satisfied that they have enough action.” Tartakovsky describes Jack as being "a young, Asian Clint Eastwood". Jack is voiced by Mad TV's Phil Lamar, who also is the voice of Green Lantern on Justice League and Hector Con Carne on Evil Con Carne.

     Samurai Jack aired on August 10th, 2001 with a 90-minute movie kick-off premiere. The movie tells of how a boy, whom is a prince, is raised under the Bushindo code of honor: the ancient rules of the samurai. In his youth, an evil shape-shifting demon/wizard, named Aku, took over his land and caused great terror. In the past, the boy's father, the emperor, had defeated Aku with the help of a magic sword forged by monks. In an effort to save the land, the boy was sent away to train to become a strong warrior. He had the ability to train with the likes of Greek philosophers, Tibetan monks, Italian scholars, Mongolian conquerors and of course, Japanese martial artists. He learned the skills of swordsmanship, horseback riding, fighting, all while keeping his mind sharp. When he returned to fight Aku and free his people, he was sent into a time portal during battle, leaving the prince sometime in the distant future where Aku still rules and enemies hold the greatest magic and technology at their finger tips. He earns the moniker "Jack" by a few people he first meets, and continues his journey to find a way back home. The series is about Jack’s journey to beat Aku. Along the way, he meets many tribes, futuristic societies, mutants, shady characters, robots, scientists, tribes of futuristic mutant robot scientists, etc. He also meets some allies such as the Scotsman.

     The Samurai Jack Trilogy contains the first three episodes of the series and airs on Cartoon Theater. It is also available on DVD and VHS. It was nominated for the Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More) Emmy in 2001. The series possesses some of the most action-packed, abstract animation from Cartoon Network & Hanna-Barbera in a long time. It currently has a 52-episode contract.