ABC Teams With Mark Burnett For Shark Tank

ABC has ordered seven episodes of Mark Burnett’s Shark Tank, an adaptation of the U.K. reality hit Dragon’s Den in which eager entrepreneurs pitch their business ventures to five multimillionaire tycoons. The pitchmen have to convince the investors to part with the requested amount of their own money, or they leave empty handed. The format originated in Japan and has since become a worldwide success, with BBC Two’s Dragon’s Den running for six seasons and airing domestically on BBC America.

The team’s creative approach to the program has shifted since its pilot was ordered last fall. At first, everybody thought the show needed to feel bigger. The BBC version has the wealthy investors and pitchmen haggling in a sparse loft space. There’s no cheering audience, no graphics, no exterior footage. The drama comes from whether the entrepreneur’s proposal will survive an intense inquisition, and if it does, whether the sharks will then turn on each other to snatch up the idea. Working with Burnett, the network initially tried to make the show feel like a larger event, shooting a pilot in a huge auditorium and placing the investors behind an intimidating desk, among other tweaks. But most of the changes distracted from what worked so well about the original: the interpersonal tension between ambitious entrepreneurs struggling to convince five strangers to part with their money.

In 2006, the network attempted a similar concept called American Inventor, which was co-produced by one of the British stars of Dragon’s Den. But American Inventor was an elimination competition about the process of developing an invention, whereas Shark Tank is self-contained episodes that are all about the drama of pitch meetings. No airdate is set, though a premiere sometime next season seems likely.

The sharks include Robert Herjavec (who made his fortune in Internet security systems), Kevin Harrington (infomercials), Barbara Corcoran (real estate), Kevin O’Leary (well-known Canadian investor) and Daymond John (FUBU sportsware). Shark Tank marks the first collaboration between ABC and Burnett, who has popular shows on the other three major broadcast networks but has never had a series on ABC. The network and prolific producer hope the project strikes a chord with viewers given the current economic climate.