The sharks are circling for their next deal.
America’s favorite entrepreneurship show, Shark Tank, is heading back to TV screens today (September 23) for its 14th season. But its premiere episode will be unlike anything anyone has seen from the show before.
Be ready to cue the Jaws theme song, as Shark Tank is going live for the first-time ever!
“I am ready to go. I think I’m more excited than any of the other sharks. I think it’s going to be sheer pandemonium in a very positive, chaotic way,” Robert Herjavec told Celeb Secrets reporter Blakely McHugh at a press junket on set.
All of the original Sharks will be returning for season 14, including Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John. Additionally, Emma Grede, the co-founder of Good American, will be a recurring guest, marking her the first Black woman to invest on the show.
“I never thought this would last more than five and I am so wrong on that one. It has just become iconic. It’s incredible,” Kevin O’Leary — AKA Mr. Wonderful — said about the longevity of the show. “I get stopped all around the world now, I mean Shark Tank is on in 40 countries, it’s amazing.”
MARK CUBAN, DAYMOND JOHN, BARBARA CORCORAN, KEVIN O’LEARY, LORI GREINER, ROBERT HERJAVEC
Because the show is hosting its first-ever live episode, things will be much different for the entrepreneurs and the viewers.
Typically when an entrepreneur is pitching themselves, it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and half to get the deal done. With this live episode, entrepreneurs will have eleven minutes to close the deal.
On top of that, the sharks can phone a friend for advice on whether to invest or not. Considering it’s in real time, whoever they call is likely seeing the pitches play out as the investors are.
“We gotta keep it quick, there’s only x amount of time per deal but that’s going to make it a lot more intense,” Cuban shared. “We’ve got to get to making a decision really, we’ve got to get to beating up on Kevin really fast, all these things that are going to make it a little more intense.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRdYK8Cs-7E
There are two new guests joining the show this year, the CEO and co-founder of Doordash, Tony Xu, as well as the founder and CEO of the lifestyle brand Goop, Gwenyth Paltrow.
It’s a fitting role for Paltrow as she grew her company from a newsletter that started in her kitchen in 2008, to an impressive full fledged lifestyle brand covering everything from skincare, makeup, travel, food to mental, spiritual and physical health.
It seems she impressed the sharks too, calling her a “superstar” and “insanely good.”
“You could tell why Goop is so successful. She wasn’t the big boisterous type like some guest sharks have been but when she opened her mouth when she said something, it was like, ‘oh sh*t that’s smart’,” Cuban said.
MARK CUBAN, DAYMOND JOHN, BARBARA CORCORAN, KEVIN O’LEARY, LORI GREINER, ROBERT HERJAVEC
In addition to Paltrow’s appearance, fans can also expect some incredible stories, powerful pitches and emotional moments. During the first three seconds of the trailer for season 14 we see an investor crying saying, “this is the first thing I’ve ever done for myself.”
Lori Greiner replies, “who is it that relies on you?”
Daymond John revealed that this season was especially emotional as one of the investors brought a shark to tears, something that has never happened before.
Whoever said sharks don’t cry, lied.
You can catch all-new episodes of Shark Tank every Friday @ 8PM ET/PT on ABC and watch our interviews with the cast below:
