'Shark Tank' Season 12 shooting starts, amid strict COVID-19 measures
Shark Tank is not bowing down to industry pressures of postponing shoot due to coronavirus pandemic. The popular start-up investment show is currently filming its twelfth season and its precautionary measures are far more specific and complex than its contemporaries such as The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars. The Season 12 of this show will start to air from October 16 on ABC.
To ensure that the entire cast and crew stay out of contact with outsiders possibly carrying the virus, the show producers have turned five floors of a Venetian Las Vegas hotel into a Shark Tank-exclusive COVID bubble. This means that these floors will be occupied by the entire production unit, the participants, the judges and other members of the show.
Further, choosing a hotel in Las Vegas is a wise decision for filming as the Sin City and Nevada are the only two proper filming locations in the US that have been comparatively less impacted by the virus. CBS reality show Love Island has also picked up Vegas for shooting their second season. But the COVID-19 tests for Shark Tank are unforgiving and ultra-strict.
Before any crew member can reach the Vegas facility, they have to undergo COVID-19 test and be diagnosed negative. The contestants are up for more trouble as they will have to test COVID-19 negative thrice before the camera starts rolling on them and they be able to pitch their ideas/inventions to the 'sharks' or investors. These measures definitely make Shark Tank's fall schedule achievable.
Moreover, production wouldn't start without the teams undergoing a 10-day solitary confinement in their respective rooms, further reducing chances of virus spreading. Mark Cuban, one of the main sharks, said the pandemic has been a boon for start-ups. "Trying to retain legacy revenue streams are going to be difficult for physical businesses, but there will be equivalent opportunities to create new businesses," he noted.
