Mark Burnett is mounting another entrepreneurial reality show, this time with ABC.

The Apprentice and Survivor producer is teaming up with the network to produce a show called The Shark Tank, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Sony Pictures TV is also producing.) The show is a version of Dragons' Den, a Japanese show in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a group of tycoons in hopes of earning start-up money.

ABC has tried something similar in the past, airing two seasons of the Simon Cowell-produced American Inventor. That show focused on people pitching products rather than business concepts and was co-created and judged by British entrepreneur Peter Jones, who's also one of the judges on the U.K. version of Dragons' Den.

American Inventor debuted with a splash in the spring of 2006, drawing better than 14 million viewers for its premiere. Ratings slid from there, though, and the first season ended up averaging about 9.5 million viewers. A second season in the summer of 2007 averaged 6.4 million viewers.

Should the pilot go forward, it would be the first Burnett-produced series to air on ABC. He currently has shows on CBS (Survivor), FOX (Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?) and NBC (Celebrity Apprentice).

Comments

It's "Dragons' Den", not "Dragon's Den"

James Poole | Sep 5, 2008 3:31:29 AM | #

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Thanks for the catch. Story's been fixed.

zap2it | Sep 5, 2008 9:13:57 AM | #

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Dragons Den on BBC America is one of the best reality shows on the planet. I don't even consider it a reality show. It's more of in your face, get to the point, let's do business, or get the hell out. American Inventor was cheesy and gross. Dragons Den gets down to brass tax: will it make money? If yes, I want to invest. If not, get the *blank* out of my face.

AJ Pesh | Sep 5, 2008 1:20:02 PM | #

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I am a hopeful candidate for the show. This sounds like it should blow the American inventor out of water! The world is craving new things. They dont want to hear about whats been going on in our past- we know that already, ECONOMIC FAILURE!! But an attractive show about exciting hopeful ideas and inventions will capture the hungry minds of America. Especially if it has a great guy like myself on screen.Lol

pierre griffin | Dec 3, 2008 12:44:01 PM | #

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