Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter’s Laboratory and writer/director of the first three Hotel Transylvania movies, has signed an exclusive multi-year overall deal with Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation to create new content.

Tartakovsky will develop and produce original animated programming at both studios for TV and streaming platforms. This means he has the flexibility to create original material or tap into the IP libraries of both companies.

Tartakovsky is a longtime hit-maker for Warner, having created and produced Cartoon Network classics like Samurai Jack and The Powerpuff Girls. His history with Cartoon Network Studios stretches back to its early years, when he worked on projects like TV movies The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001) and Whatever Happened to…Robot Jones? (2000). 

Last year, Cartoon Network Studios bet on Tartakovsky again with a greenlight for Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, his action-adventure series about ancient heroes stuck in teenage bodies. This series is currently in production and will eventually premiere on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.

A second season of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is also set to debut July 21 on Cartoon Network’s older-skewing late-night block Adult Swim.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s animation studios have locked in several other overall deals with above-the-line talent lately to retain access to star creators and support their content pipelines. Last year, for example, they inked a joint overall deal with Looney Tunes Cartoons executive producer Pete Browngardt and Emmy-winning producer Wyatt Cenac to create original content.

In other news, Warner Bros. Animation is producing a new animated movie called Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical for HBO Max and Cartoon Network. The family-targeted film will feature original songs and new versions of classic songs from the Warner Bros. library of feature-length musicals.

Bye Bye Bunny catches up with Bugs as he retires from his live stage show and gets caught up in a mission to rescue Daffy Duck from a crazed fan, with help from the whole Looney Tunes cast. Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) is handling music and orchestration, with Warner Bros. Animation/Cartoon Network Studios president Sam Register on board as executive producer.