Shark Tank

Shark Tank is an American reality television series that premiered on ABC in 2009. The show features aspiring entrepreneurs as they make business presentations to a panel of five "shark" investors, who then choose whether to invest as business partners. The reality show format originated in Japan and is known internationally as Dragon's Den.

References

• In The Muppets episode "Got Silk?," Big Mean Carl claims to have many ideas to pitch for Shark Tank.

• Disney's 2017 "Summer of Service" initiative featured a PSA-style spin-off, Spark Tank (with Mark Cuban and a panel of kids, called "sparks"), seen on the Disney Channel app and in shorter versions on ABC and other Disney-owned outlets. Miss Piggy appeared in one segment to pitch a clothing drive. (YouTube)

• The show was parodied by Sesame Workshop in 2018 as "Street Tank." Guy Smiley introduces the judges, including Sesame Workshop president and CEO Jeff Dunn, who hear pitches from Grover, Bert and Oscar the Grouch. (YouTube)

Muppet Mentions

On the December 11th, 2013 episode of the Canadian Dragon's Den (predating Shark Tank by three years), an entrepreneur is demonstrating his packaging, similar to an over-sized Advent calendar. Investor Kevin O'Leary (who serves the same role on Shark Tank), known sarcastically as "Mr. Wonderful", is given an Oscar the Grouch t-shirt as a reference to his personality.

Connections

• Jeff Foxworthy appeared in several episodes in season 2
• Mona Weiss, who helped pitch Eco-Nuts on Shark Tank, was a recurring member of The Kids
• Mark Cuban has been appearing on Shark Tank since season 2. He also appeared in a special update episode of the Canadian Dragon's Den.