MrBeast heads towards the Shark tank.
The YouTube phenomenon, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been confirmed as a guest on season 18 of ABC’s long-running business reality series, which will debut in the fall.
He will appear alongside Beast Industries CEO Jeffrey Housenbold and joins a particularly star-studded lineup of guest sharks for the new season.
Actress and writer Mindy Kaling, former NFL star JJ Watt, Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett, as well as Sara and Erin Foster, co-founders of fashion brand Favorite Daughter and true inspirations behind the Netflix series Nobody wants that.
Guest sharks will appear alongside the show’s permanent panel, which includes Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Daniel Lubetzky, Kevin O’Leary, Kendra Scott and Rashaun Williams.
This selection marks a notable change in the type of characters ABC brings to the tank.
Previous guest sharks tended to lean toward traditional business executives, but this season leans heavily into the world of content creators and podcasters, a move that echoes ABC’s strategy with Dancing with the starswhere relying on social media personalities helped drive audience engagement.
Shark Tank has remained one of the most enduring reality TV formats on American television since its debut in 2009, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors for real money.
MrBeast, one of the most subscribed creators on YouTube, brings a different type of fame to the tank and a very different type of audience.
