When Does Shark Tank Season 18 Start? September 30, 2026

Last updated August 15, 2026. This is a living page, refreshed as ABC confirms more details.

Shark Tank Season 18 premieres Wednesday, September 30, 2026 on ABC, with next-day streaming on Hulu. That is the date currently carried in ABC's episode listings for the season opener.

It is worth knowing that this is not the date most articles quoted earlier in the summer. Trade coverage in July pointed to September 24, and that figure is still circulating. September 24, 2026 is a Thursday, and Shark Tank airs Wednesdays, which is the simplest reason to treat the later date as the real one. Below is what is confirmed, what changed, and how the season is likely to run from there.

What ABC Has Confirmed

Three things are official. Season 18 returns in the fall of 2026. It keeps its Wednesday-night home on ABC. And every episode streams the following day on Hulu, the same pattern the show has used for the last several seasons.

ABC has also confirmed the cast that will fill the Tank, which is the clearest sign the season is close. Six returning sharks stay on: Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, and Daniel Lubetzky. Kendra Scott and Rashaun Williams join as permanent sharks, and a guest roster led by MrBeast and Mindy Kaling rotates through the season. A confirmed cast usually means production is already well underway.

The Premiere Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Network episode listings have Season 18, Episode 1 airing Wednesday, September 30, 2026, in the show's usual 8pm slot, streaming on Hulu the next day. That listing first appeared at the end of July and has held steady since.

The September 24 date that circulated in July came from trade reports published before the fall schedule was finalised. It never fit: September 24, 2026 falls on a Thursday, and ABC has confirmed Season 18 keeps its Wednesday night. A one-week slip from a reported target to a scheduled Wednesday is an ordinary piece of fall-schedule housekeeping, not a delay.

Premiere dates can still move as the fall schedule settles, and if this one does, the change lands on this page. As things stand, September 30 is the date to plan around.

How the Schedule Usually Works

If you want to sanity-check a Shark Tank premiere, history is a reliable guide. The show almost always launches in late September or October and then runs through the following spring. Our episode data shows Season 14 opening on September 23, 2022, Season 15 on September 29, 2023, and Season 16 on October 18, 2024. A September 30 start for Season 18 sits squarely in that range, and is within a day of Season 15's opener.

From there, the pattern is steady. A season carries somewhere between eighteen and two dozen episodes, spread across the fall and winter with breaks for holidays and other programming, and wraps with a finale in the spring. Season 17, for reference, ran eighteen episodes and closed on April 22, 2026. A Season 18 that premieres in late September 2026 would follow the same rhythm and finish in the first half of 2027.

The short version: Shark Tank returns to ABC on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, streaming next day on Hulu, and runs into spring 2027.

Why This Premiere Is Worth Watching For

Season 18 is not a routine renewal. It is the first season built entirely around the post-Mark-Cuban Tank. Cuban, the show's most active investor across fifteen seasons, left after Season 16, and Season 17 filled his seat with a rotation of guests rather than a single replacement. For Season 18, ABC made the change permanent by promoting two former guests, jewelry founder Kendra Scott and venture capitalist Rashaun Williams, to full-time seats alongside returning sharks Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, and Daniel Lubetzky.

The other reason to circle the premiere is the guest list. MrBeast, the most-subscribed individual creator on YouTube, headlines a guest roster that also includes Mindy Kaling, J.J. Watt, Erin and Sara Foster, and Steven Bartlett. It is the splashiest lineup of visitors the show has assembled, and the network will almost certainly lean on those names to promote the launch.

There is also a bar to clear. Season 17 posted a 75 percent deal rate, the highest in the show's history, and did it without its biggest spender. A new-look Season 18 walks in with expectations already set high, which makes the return more than just another fall premiere.

If you want to catch it live, the safest move is to check ABC's schedule in early September 2026, when the network typically publishes its fall calendar and locks premiere dates. Anything airing on ABC that night lands on Hulu the following day, so there is no rush to be in front of a television at eight o'clock. We refresh this page as each detail is confirmed, so it is worth a bookmark if you would rather not chase the news yourself.

Common questions about the Season 18 premiere

When is Shark Tank coming back in 2026? Wednesday, September 30, 2026, on ABC.

What is the Shark Tank Season 18 release date? September 30, 2026. Episodes air Wednesday nights and stream on Hulu the following day.

Was the premiere date changed? The date reported in July was September 24. The scheduled premiere is September 30, a Wednesday, which matches the night ABC confirmed for the season.

How many episodes will Season 18 have? Recent seasons have run eighteen to two dozen episodes from the fall premiere through a spring finale. Season 17 ran eighteen and closed on April 22, 2026.