Shark Tank Was Almost Axed After Just One Season

Like many a popular reality show in the US, "Shark Tank" is based on an international reality series–or in this case, three of them. The first iteration of "Shark Tank" aired in Japan beginning in 2001, and its title loosely translates to "Tigers of Money." That led to two more versions that aired in the UK (2005) and Canada (2006), which were both called "Dragons' Den"–"Shark Tank" mainstays Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjavec are Canadian and were sharks on the Canadian version.

Then, uber reality producer Mark Burnett teamed up with Sony to create the American version, which became "Shark Tank." According to original shark Daymond John, Burnett and company pitched the show to several networks including ABC, who all passed. ABC finally changed its mind in 2009, while the Great Recession was in full swing.

Burnett wanted to keep "Shark Tank" true to its roots and actually educate viewers on how to run businesses. At first, Burnett was reluctant to hire celebrities who didn't have entrepreneurial backgrounds, and instead hired bona fide business moguls. Problem was, their lack of name recognition hurt. John describes the first season's sharks as a bunch of "nobodies," himself included.

On top of that, the show's producers came from reality TV backgrounds, not business backgrounds. This meant that while they may have been adept at choosing contestants who would be dynamic on camera, they might not have been able to spot a viable business opportunity. As a result, in the show's first season, only about 30-40% of the deals made on the show actually closed.

All of this had ABC ready to consign "Shark Tank" to a watery grave, but a shakeup in the network's executive suite changed everything.