Samurai Jack is an American action-adventure animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows "Jack", an unnamed Japanese samurai sent through time to a dystopian future ruled by the tyrannical shape-shifting demon "Aku". Jack quests to travel back in time and defeat Aku before he can take over the world. The series premiered on August 10, 2001, with a TV movie called The Premiere Movie, before ending on September 25, 2004, without concluding the story. A revival was produced twelve years later, resulting in a fifth season that concluded the series, which premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on March 11, 2017, and the series finale aired on May 20, 2017. All episodes of Samurai Jack are directed by Tartakovsky, usually in collaboration with others. The series has garnered critical acclaim, and won eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program, as well as six Annie Awards and an OIAF Award.