Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Shark Tank: Season 1
  • Network: ABC
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 9, 2009
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3
Metascore
55 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 2 out of 11
view
per page
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Josh Wolk
    83
    The moneymen ask informed questions and make shrewd decisions, a welcome relief from Donald Trump's capricious calls on Burnett's "Celebrity Apprentice."
  2. Salon
    Reviewed by: Heather Havrilesky
    80
    ABC's Shark Tank is easily the best new reality TV show to air this summer (which, admittedly, isn't saying much).
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    70
    It sounds gimmicky and visually tedious, with most of the so-called action taking place in a conference room. It's all those things, but the moments of misery make it memorable.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Michael Starr
    63
    Mark Burnett's newest plunge into the reality waters--somewhat predictable, with all the requisite reality bells and whistles (lots of dark blue mood lighting, dramatic music, quick-cut editing)--is mildly entertaining in that summer TV kind of way.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: David Hinckley
    60
    Once you get past its somewhat misleading title, Mark Burnett's new Shark Tank is a well-paced hour that offers entertainment without humiliation.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    60
    The cleverest part of the show is that it makes the judges into contestants; they compete against one another for the right to invest in a business, and they haggle with the entrepreneurs over the terms of their investment.
  7. The Hollywood Reporter
    60
    Brisk, sharp and surprisingly emotional for what essentially is a series of venture-capital-investment interviews, the show--based on the Japanese format "Dragons' Den"--balances the human element of its wish-fulfilling conceit with at least the illusion of the business legitimacy that made Burnett's "The Apprentice" such campy fun.
  8. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    50
    Business buffs may love it, but Shark Tank lacks the lush visuals of "Survivor" and the star power of Trump. It just doesn't have the same bite.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    40
    So is Shark Tank cathartic, or merely depressing? Perhaps appropriately, it's a little of both.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Laura Bennett
    30
    The show is like watching fish getting shot in a barrel. It offers up poor souls with harebrained schemes and makes merry sport of eviscerating them.
  11. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Paige Wiser
    25
    There are so many things I hate about his new show, In the Shark Tank, that I started numbering them just to calm down. Where to start?
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 25
  3. Negative: 8 out of 25
  1. JohnS
    0
    A disgusting show with disgusting people. If enough Americans watched it we would probably convert en masse to communism.
  2. carolyng
    10
    Loved this show!!! Sorry to see it off the air. I hope it will return soon. Fun and exciting to watch the 5 sharks interact as well as listening to how they make a decision on what is or is not a good investment. I found the show entertaining as well as educational.… Full Review »
  3. TomE
    10
    As an Entrepeneur I look forward to watch this show every week. This is the closes thing to the real world situations for people with good ideas that are after funding. There are alot more to it but you can't put all of that in an hour show without boring people. I think they should bring guest investors to spice it up and follow up not only on those who got shark money and became successful but also on those who didn't get shark money but still found a way to become successful just because they got the exposure they needed to get their idea in front of many non-shark potential investors that they couldn't do other wise. I look forward to what next season will bring and will be happy to give more ideas to spice it up even more.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »