'Shark Tank' Needs To Stay Afloat For Season 9

Everyone's favorite entrepreneurial reality show is ending it's eighth season on Friday, May 12 and fans are already wondering when does Shark Tank return for Season 9? Though the shows hasn't been officially renewed yet, it'd be surprising if it doesn't come back for another season. When the show first began in 2009, it was only given 14 episodes and ran from August to February. However, the show has come a long way since then. Ever since the show's fourth season, it's been holding it's own in the ratings department, with seasons that are 24 episodes long or longer. Just like most TV shows, Shark Tank now typically premieres in September, usually on the last or second to last Friday of the month. So fans can expect the ninth season to air somewhere around Sept. 22 or 29, if the series does get renewed, which let's face it, it probably will.

The show, which is executive produced by Mark Burnett, stars Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, and Daymond John as the "Sharks" this season. Though John, who's the CEO of FUBU, recently revealed he was battling stage two thyroid cancer, after getting the mass removed it seems he's feeling better than ever now and will most likely return if there is a ninth season of the show.

If the show does continue to live on, it will probably reach the 200-episode mark. After the Season 8 finale, Shark Tank will hit 175 episodes, and they'll only need one 25-episode season to hit the significant benchmark. Since the show has done three seasons with almost 30 episodes, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect Season 9 will be at least 25 episodes long.

With a milestone this momentous on the table, it seems almost inevitable that ABC will renew the popular show. Still, the network will most likely hold off on announcing the renewal until after the Upfronts next week, in which networks announce their new shows and attempt to sell their ad time to ad buyers. Until then, fans will just have to hope their favorite sharks will return for yet another season of interesting new products, bickering, and some funny moments.

For now, fans still have the Season 8 finale to look forward to. The finale will include a party for the Sharks, a futuristic notebook, new hair care products, and a season-long recap.

You can see the season finale when it airs on Friday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.