ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ moving to Atlanta from Los Angeles

ABC’s “Shark Tank” is moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta after 17 seasons, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Production has left the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, California, and is set to begin production of Season 18 in Atlanta in June, according to a source at Sony Pictures Television who wasn’t officially authorized to provide the information.

Tyler Perry Studios will be the new home of the popular reality competition show, according to a source close to the studio who was not permitted to discuss tenants there.

(From Left to Right): Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Rashaun Williams. (Disney/Christopher Willard)

California’s tax credit system currently favors scripted shows and recently added incentives for animated series and higher-budget competition shows. But traditional game shows are excluded.

As a result, some game shows have decided to move to Atlanta, which has no such limitations for its 18-year-old state film and tax credit system. Georgia still draws about 20 to 30 TV and film productions at any given time, but that is below the average volume between 2015 and 2022, as competition from other states and countries has led many scripted films and TV shows to go elsewhere.

“Shark Tank,” which celebrates American ingenuity, has been a reliable ratings draw for ABC since it debuted in 2009, and dozens of Atlanta entrepreneurs over the years have benefited from the exposure. It has also turned the wealthy investor “Sharks” such as Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec and Daymond John into household names.

This past season, Falcons minority owner Rashaun Williams was a guest Shark. Other Atlantans who have guested on the show include comedy legend Jeff Foxworthy and Spanx founder Sara Blakely.

An upcoming Nate Bargatze comedy, “Breadwinner,” which was shot largely in metro Atlanta and hits theaters May 29, uses “Shark Tank” as a plot device, as revealed in the movie’s trailers.

ABC’s “Press Your Luck” hosted by Elizabeth Banks recently departed Los Angeles and taped its seventh season at Trilith Studios in Fayetteville. It’s set to return to ABC, Hulu and Disney+ this July.

The network’s “Celebrity Family Feud” hosted by Steve Harvey also left Los Angeles last year for Tyler Perry Studios but has moved to Trilith this month. It is set to air the same night as “Press Your Luck” this summer. (The syndicated version of “Family Feud” has been produced in Atlanta for most of the past 16 years.)