The Apprentice (American TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television program that judged the business skills of a group of contestants. It ran in various formats across fifteen seasons on NBC from 2004 to 2017. The Apprentice was created by British television producer Mark Burnett,[1] and co-produced with Donald Trump, who was the show's host for the first fourteen seasons.[2] Billed as "The Ultimate Job Interview," seven of the show's seasons feature aspiring, but otherwise unknown, businesspeople who would vie for the show's prize, a one-year $250,000 starting contract to promote one of Donald Trump's properties. The show features 14 to 18 such business people who compete over the course of the season, with usually one contestant eliminated per episode. Contestants are split into two "corporations" (teams), with one member from each volunteering as a project manager on each new task. The corporations complete business-related tasks such as selling products, raising money for charity, or creating an advertising campaign, with one corporation selected as the winner based on objective measures and subjective opinions of the host and the host's advisors who monitor the teams' performance on tasks. The losing corporation attends a boardroom meeting with the show's host and their advisors to break down why they lost and determine who contributed the least to the team. Episodes ended with the host eliminating one contestant from the competition, with the words "You're fired!"
The Apprentice
United States
English
15
192
- Mark Burnett
- Donald Trump
- Arnold Schwarzenegger (2017)
Trump Tower, New York City (2004–2015)
60 minutes (seasons 1–7, 10)
120 minutes (seasons 8–9, 11–15)
- Trump Productions
- (2004–2015)
- (seasons 1–14)
- Mark Burnett Productions
- (2004-2011)
- (seasons 1–11)
- One Three Media
- (2012–2013)
- (seasons 12–13)
- United Artists Media Group
- (2015)
- (season 14)
- MGM Television
- (2017)
- (season 15)
January 8, 2004 –
February 13, 2017
There have also been eight seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice since 2008. In this format, several celebrities would participate to win money for their chosen charities, with the final prize being a large donation to the celebrity's charity and the title of "Apprentice". A reboot of this format, The New Celebrity Apprentice, aired in January 2017. The U.S. series originated a franchise of international television shows collectively known as The Apprentice, which has had over 20 local versions.
Trump was fired by NBC[3] when the studio disagreed with remarks he made about Mexican immigrants during his announcement that he was running for President of the United States[4] on June 16, 2015. It was announced in September 2015 that actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would become the new host of The Celebrity Apprentice,[5][6] starting January 2017. Lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart hosted a one-season spin-off titled The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.
Controversies[edit]
Whereas winners have been named "executive vice presidents", and given the title of "owner's representative," in actuality, they were employed as publicity spokespeople for the Trump Organization. Second season winner Kelly Perdew, on his first day working for Trump, was introduced by his boss to Florida developers working on a Trump-branded condo, the Trump Tower, in Tampa, Florida, where he was told that he would help promote sales of the building by appearing at promotional events.[34]
After Trump began to publicly question whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States,[35] The Apprentice was criticized for its involvement with Trump. Some people publicly called for NBC to fire Trump from his role on The Apprentice. Industry media speculated about the extent to which Trump's media comments may have contributed to the show's ratings decline,[36][37] given how other Trump-associated businesses have suffered since Trump's political campaign began.[38] One (anonymous) Celebrity Apprentice contestant even announced an intention to boycott the May 15 taping of the season seven finale, unless forced by contract to appear.[39]
Following repeated criticisms from Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to do another season of The Celebrity Apprentice after only one season—although Trump stated that he was fired.[40]
In 2006, a lawsuit brought by Mark Bethea against the show's producers alleging theft of the original concept[41] was settled on undisclosed terms.[42] Among the lawyers representing Bethea was Michael Avenatti.
On April 9, 2020, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield ordered the Trump Organization and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to release behind-the-scenes videos of The Apprentice.[43][44]
Video games[edit]
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 17, 2005, Legacy Interactive announced that it had purchased the rights to develop a video game based on The Apprentice. The game was to be released in fall 2005 on the Xbox, PlayStation Portable, and PC.[45] The Apprentice was released for PC on February 28, 2006. The player chooses a character and is then paired up with one of four former Apprentice contestants, including Omarosa. The player must perform well in a series of business tasks, played across 18 minigames, to avoid a boardroom confrontation with Donald Trump and his advisors, George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher.[46][47]
Alex Navarro of GameSpot rated the game 3 out of 10 and called it a "collection of games that you can play better versions of for free or significantly cheaper elsewhere on the Internet. Not only are these games overly simplistic, they're just not that much fun." Navarro wrote, "Most offensive of all, however, is how cheaply The Apprentice handles its license. This game presents itself horribly. It looks like it was programmed hastily with Macromedia, with all the characters appearing as weirdly drawn cartoon versions of themselves." Navarro also criticized the game's audio clips of Donald Trump, and its short length, noting that the entire game could be completed in 20 minutes.[47]
On February 6, 2007, Legacy announced a new game, The Apprentice: Los Angeles, to be released online and in retail stores during the show's sixth season. The Apprentice: Los Angeles was released on May 1, 2007. The player must serve customers throughout the game's 40 levels, set in four locations. Depending on the player's success throughout the game, the player receives praise and criticism from Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump.[48]
Jim Squries of Gamezebo gave the game three and a half stars out of five, and praised the "bright" and "colorful" graphics, as well as the "smooth" controls and diverse gameplay. Squries wrote, "Ultimately, the only disappointment to be found in The Apprentice is the slightly shoddy handling of parts of the license. Trump's audio clips are brief and sound like they were recorded in a tin shack, while the team-based aspects of the show could've been played up more to create additional appeal for fans of the show."[49]
Murdoch's attempt at Buying The Apprentice[edit]
On March 10, 2023; It was reported that Rupert Murdoch[50] once considered acquiring the rights to the show from NBC following the former president's 2020 defeat to Joe Biden but the deal crumbled due to a fear that Trump would "kill" the reality series by turning it into a full-time campaign vehicle for him.