Although Donald Trump is to step down (or rather sideways) from his business interests, the President Elect has intimated he will continue to be involved with the “reality” television show The Apprentice when it returns in 2017. The return of the show, which was last screened in 2015, will not feature Trump in the boss’s chair, however; the top seat will be occupied by fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Apprentice is part of Trump’s commercial interests and he co-created the show. MGM has the majority stake in the program and it airs on NBC in America. Trump co-created the show with British-born American television producer Mark Burnett. A U.K. version of the show also exists, hosted by British business magnate Lord (Alan) Sugar.
Altogether Trump has hosted fourteen series of The Apprentice. The format involves wannabe business professionals living in a communal suite at Trump Tower in Manhattan and competing in teams or against each other in games where the objective is to secure more money than the other group.
Originally NBC said it wanted nothing more to do with Donald Trump — who also produced the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants — following the presidential campaign. During his race for the presidency, Trump, as The Guardian summarizes: “characterized Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists.” However, NBC has not been able to sever all links with Trump completely due to MGM being happy with Trump’s continuation.
According to Variety magazine, which broke the story, Trump will be paid at least “in the low five-figures” per episode. The BBC quotes from the President-elect’s spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, who says: “Mr Trump has a big stake in the show and conceived of it with Mark Burnett.”
