Shark Tank had to make some significant adjustments to shoot during the pandemic, which included moving production to Las Vegas where they created their own bubble in the Venetian hotel. But then the producers had to wonder: Would entrepreneurs want to make the trek to Sin City to secure funding for their fledging businesses?
You bet your Pet Rock, they did.
“It actually worked out really well,” said executive producer Clay Newbill, who joined EP Yun Lingner and Sharks Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary at Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted awards-season event. “There were actually there were a lot of people. Tens of thousands of people were willing so our casting numbers didn’t go down at all. People really wanted the opportunity.
“I think in some ways during the pandemic they needed even more that opportunity to get in front of the sharks and pitch their ideas. And some of the businesses were actually started because of the pandemic.”
Added Lingner: “We felt so lucky that we’ve been able to shoot two seasons during the pandemic and everyone stayed safe. We feel like the quality didn’t suffer at all. Yes, there’s some changes to the set and we made some concessions, like close contact interaction between the sharks and entrepreneurs. But really the content of the show and the spirit of the show was unchanged. It was a really heartening, wonderful experience.”
Season 13 of Shark Tank returned this month on ABC.
Check back Monday for the panel video.