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ShowsShark TankSeason 8
Premiered September 2016 · ABC

Season 8

Guest sharks keep rotating through the added seat season seven introduced, but it reads less like an experiment now and more like a fixture. The classic six carry every episode as always, twenty-four episodes deep into the format's most settled stretch yet.

Filmed
Culver City, California
Culver City · shoot behind the guest seat's second year
Premiered
Sep 23, 2016
ABC · September 2016
Episodes
24
24-episode eighth run
Format
Guest-seat rotation settles into a fixture
Second year running for the added guest chair
Cast size
6 cast members
Same classic six; the guest seat keeps cycling through names
On this page6 sections
  1. 01The take
  2. 02The shape of the season
  3. 03Where it sits in the canon
  4. 04What to watch for
  5. 05Adjacent in the canon
  6. 06In this canon
01The take

Season 8.

The wrinkle from last season becomes a fixture — nothing new to fix, one seat left to refine.
02The shape of the season

A rhythm worth tracking.

Season eight is the guest-seat idea's second year, and the rotation feels less like an experiment and more like a fixture. The classic six anchor every episode as before; the added chair keeps cycling through names rather than settling on one. Twenty-four episodes carry the show through its most stable stretch yet, format-wise — nothing new to fix, one wrinkle to keep refining.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #06 slot.

Slot #06 of 11 in the Shark Tank Editor's Canon. Season eight is the guest-seat idea's second year, and the rotation starts to feel less like an experiment and more like a fixture the show intends to keep. The classic six still anchor every episode exactly as before, but the added chair now cycles through names with more purpose than season seven's tentative first run — a recurring guest shark becomes a familiar presence across several episodes for the first time. Twenty-four episodes settle into the format's most stable stretch yet, which is what earns season eight its place just above the wrinkle's debut.

No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
04What to watch for

3 moments, no spoilers.

  • Early eps · a returning guest

    Watch for a guest shark from the year before making a return trip — the tank clearly wanted at least one repeat face in the rotation this year.

  • Mid-run · loosest panel banter yet

    The classic six's rapport is at its loosest and funniest here, four seasons into a lineup that stopped needing an adjustment period a while ago.

  • Late season · pitch variety widens

    The mix of pitch categories broadens noticeably — watch for how differently the panel questions a product pitch versus a straight service pitch.

06In this canon

Its Editor's Canon entry.

Shark Tank — Season 8 — tiered.tv