via press release:
NBC, DONALD TRUMP AND MARK BURNETT WANT TO HELP AMERICA GET BACK TO WORK WITH NEW VERSION OF POPULAR ORIGINAL SERIES 'THE APPRENTICE'
In Refreshed Edition, Trump Will be Even More Hands-on as He Welcomes 14 Candidates Affected By the Economic Downturn and Now Seeking A New Start to Their Career
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - March 17, 2010 - NBC and Donald Trump want to put America back to work - and after a long wait - the boardroom will be open again for candidates who have been affected by the decline in the job market, as the network will pick up a new version of the popular original alternative series "The Apprentice" with Trump returning to preside.
Trump will give the opportunity of their careers to 14 new candidates ranging in age - all of whom have been hit hard by the current economic downturn. These will include talented and bright prospects who have lost their jobs with no hope in sight, people who are currently holding down jobs they don't like just to make ends meet and recent college graduates who currently have few if any prospects.
The announcement was made today by Paul Telegdy, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, NBC and Universal Media Studios.
"'The Apprentice' is a proven brand, and we believe its return is more relevant than ever since it will provide new hope for many Americans struggling in this difficult job market," said Telegdy. "Donald is going to be even more involved as he offers fantastic opportunities for the American worker, while the search for a quality job will resonate with contemporary viewers."
"I am very excited to return to the original premise of 'The Apprentice,'" said Trump. "We've got to do something about the economy and this is a terrific way to provide jobs as well as business lessons along the way. NBC, Mark Burnett and I hope this economic downturn can begin a turnaround, and we'll do our best with 'The Apprentice' to see that it starts happening. I'm proud to be putting people back to work, and to positively changing the psychology of America."
"'The Celebrity Apprentice' continues to be great TV while doing genuine good for charities. I am glad we are also bringing back the original 'Apprentice' and hope we can use America's most compelling televised business contest to continue to do good," said Mark Burnett. "Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, millions of Americans have accepted jobs they don't like and millions of Americans are about to leave school looking for a job. This year's 'Apprentice' will feature a cast selected from these three areas. And even though only one will win the prize, all other contestants will get Donald Trump's personal advice to help them find their dream jobs."
"The Apprentice" is ready to resume its celebrated search to find the best minds in America at a time when employment opportunities are scarce. People of all ages are encouraged to apply, from the newest college graduates to the more experienced over-40's who have been hard hit by this economy. Whether you are recently laid-off, long-term unemployed, a graduate with a daunting job search ahead of you or simply someone who took a job that is just allowing you to survive this downturn, we encourage you to apply.
Prospective executives who feel they have the skills and drive to become "The Apprentice" can apply by either attending one of the program's nation-wide open calls (dates and locations to be announced) or by emailing castingnbcapprentice@gmail.com. Applicants are encouraged to explain why they should be the next "Apprentice" and include information regarding how the recession has impacted their lives. Also required is a recent photo as well as name, location and occupation history.
The original version of "The Apprentice" premiered in January 2004 and became an instant hit and a subject of water-cooler conversation. Later, "The Celebrity Apprentice" debuted with celebrity contestants and proved to be another hit. The newest version of "The Celebrity Apprentice" premiered Sunday with an average 3.2 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 8.3 million viewers overall, improving NBC's non-sports season average in the time period by 45 percent in 18-49 and 32 percent in total viewers. From 10-11 p.m. ET, "The Celebrity Apprentice" was #1 among the major networks in every key demographic and won the hour by a 50 percent margin in adults 18-49.
"The Apprentice" is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Page Feldman and Eden Gaha are executive producers.
2 less hours on NBC's fall lineup for Chuck?
Doppy i think it means no more celebrity apprentice but original one instead
YUCK
I guess they think they can capture some of that Undercover Boss magic.
I suppose this would be as good a time as any to try this. Given the limited number of spots NBC has in the fall though, I'd be surprised if each episode was two hours long. Maybe they go back to putting it on Thursdays after the comedy block? Also, I doubt it'd mean no more Celebrity Apprentice. They could just air this edition in the fall and start up Celebrity Apprentice midseason, as they always have.
Didn't the original fail for lack of interest? I think this will be greeted with a big yawn.
Its not the worst idea they've ever had and the continued success of the Celebrity version at least shows there's still some interest in the basic concept and to be honest I do think its one of the better reality concepts of recent times. The interesting thing here though will be where they intend to put it. Are they going to double up and have a 'normal' Apprentice in the fall and then a Celebrity version mid season? And if they do then what happens to the Sunday night slot because it makes very little sense to me that you'd have the normal and Celebrity versions running in different slots…
Personally I'm hoping this will mean no celebrity version.
NBC can really change their line-up next fall if they have America's Got Talent and The Apprentice in it. I never understood why AGT is a summer show! Why does NBC bench their best player in favor of the summer?
Personally I'm hoping this will mean no celebrity version.
I agree, I stopped watching when they switched to the celebrity format. But with the success of the Celebrity format I think NBC is more likely to run both versions. I too don't know how they'd schedule the two versions since Sundays in the Fall aren't an option.
Perhaps someone can refresh my memory here, did The Apprentice previously run back-to-back seasons?
Also I don't think we should completely forget that part of the reason The Apprentice fell apart first time around is because they overexposed the franchise with the awful The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, which they ran at the same time as Trump's Apprentice.
I think it did run 2 cycles a season like Survivor and The Amazing Race does.
The Apprentice turned into a farce after the first season, and its last regular season was just horrible. I'm pretty sure it was dead until Silverman revived it and made it a celebrity edition, which revived the franchise.
With all the gaping holes in NBC's schedule, it makes perfect sense to air the regular edition in the fall and a celebrity edition in the spring. I've been hoping for the regular edition to come back for awhile now, since part of the appeal is watching a bunch of nobodies fight over who gets to kiss Trump's ass while performing ridiculous tasks.
The Apprentice makes for good trainwreck TV.
The Apprentice turned into a farce after the first season, and its last regular season was just horrible. I'm pretty sure it was dead until Silverman revived it and made it a celebrity edition, which revived the franchise.
With all the gaping holes in NBC's schedule, it makes perfect sense to air the regular edition in the fall and a celebrity edition in the spring. I've been hoping for the regular edition to come back for awhile now, since part of the appeal is watching a bunch of nobodies fight over who gets to kiss Trump's ass while performing ridiculous tasks.
The Apprentice makes for good trainwreck TV.
I'm sick of the celebrity crap. I was hoping they would go back to regular people.
Are you behaving yourself over here??
Based on the photograph, I was hoping what they were going to retool was Trump's hair, but sadly that's not what they have in mind….
The Apprentice save NBC's Thursday night about 6 seasons ago in the spring, when Joey had helped kill Must-See-TV, it was not allowed to air in direct competition with Survivor, it returned the following year with parts 2 & 3, the following year you got Martha Stewart:Apprentice on Wed, Donald Apprentice Part 4 Thur, sadly this started the Apprentices tumble, Martha Stewarts show only last 1 cycle, Donald move to Monday for part 5, NBC then went to 1 cycle a year for part6, then thanks to the writers strike and the Apprentice having more product placement than any show in history, The Celebrity Apprentice started it's 3 season/cycle run
NBC is like a bad SNL sketch- they take a decent joke and then hang onto it for way too long. The Apprentice was a flop for the past two years, but apparently nobody at NBC has the brains or balls to tell Trump and Burnett to take a hike. The show had a good run for a few years and it helped plug a hole in NBC's lineup, but time to let it die.
Ideas like this will keep NBC in 4th place, perhaps even move them behind the CW or Univision sometime soon. NBC is suffering from a severe, perhaps terminal case of perpetual cranio-rectal inversion syndrome.
I love the Celeb Apprentice. Hate the regular one. But I love how he's going to help save the economy by providing one person with a job.
I think he should do a D-list Celebrity Apprentice (I'd argue that the current version is C-list) and have these have-beens compete for an actual job instead of charity.
Gee, am I the only one on here who's thinking of applying? I need a job.