Clay newbill biography

“The sharks are great, but probably the heart and soul of the show are the entrepreneurs,” declares “Shark Tank” producer Clay Newbill, who’s won four Emmy Awards over the years for Best Structured Reality Program. “There’s something that’s so admirable about them that you see when you watch our show. They have such incredible stories, and they’ve overcome such great adversity to get to that moment on the rug,” he adds in Gold Derby’s Reality TV/Non-Fiction panel for the 2023 Emmys. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“‘Shark Tank’ is sort of the great equalizer,” Newbill notes. “Anybody can walk onto our show, regardless of age, gender, socioeconomics, race or educational background.” He later explains how “our Founding Fathers would’ve been fans” of ABC‘s family-friendly program. “Every person has these rights, to pursue life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I think that’s what we see when we watch those people come on the show.”

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Now in its 14th season, “Shark Tank” celebrated its 300th episode this year and has hosted more than 1,000 pitches in the tank. The six regular sharks — Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran — were also joined by an extra special guest shark, Gwyneth Paltrow. “Gwyneth was a huge ‘get’ for us,” Newbill concedes about the Best Actress Oscar winner and Goop founder.

“We’ve gone out to Gwyneth in the past, and this year I think the stars aligned,” the producer tells us. “She was somebody that we felt would be a great guest shark because she’s so well known as a celebrity for her acting … but the thing that we really liked about her is that while that was going on, she also had this idea to start her own business, Goop, which has just become hugely successful.”

SEERobert Herjavec reflects on 13 seasons of ‘Shark Tank,’ tattles on who’s actually a ‘super nice human being’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Newbill pulls back the curtain as he talks a bit more about the behind-the-scenes workings of “Shark Tank.” “We want it to be authentic,” he states. “The sharks know nothing about the businesses before they come in. That’s by design, ’cause it forces the sharks to ask a lot of questions. And that’s how we as a viewer at home learn. I’m the fly on the wall watching this business meeting going down.”

This year, “Shark Tank” will submit the Season 14 finale to Emmy judges. “If you look at the four pitches that we have in our finale, it’s a good range,” he readily admits. “You’ve got representation of different types of entrepreneurs, people, businesses, how far along they are, and they each have their own different story.” Newbill concludes by saying, “The final pitch is the tear-jerker … it’s a father-son team that come in with a really smart idea for eyewear.” The finale aired Friday, May 19 on ABC.

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