NBC to Donald Trump … “You’re Fired” … Unless we Have no Other Programming

Is NBC finally going to tell Donald Trump what he has said to so many others … You’re Fired! It appears that “The Apprentice” has finally run its course.

The future of his NBC series “The Apprentice” was cast into extreme doubt on Monday by the network’s announcement of a 2007-08 programming lineup that made no mention of Trump or the corporate-themed reality show he hosts.

Such an omission, coming at the outset of the networks’ annual “upfront” advertising market, would normally spell doom for a low-rated show like “The Apprentice.” But NBC executives refused to absolutely rule out an 11th-hour reprieve for Trump’s show.

The question was posed as to whether the  ”Apprentice” was now effectively dead, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly insisted, “Not yet.” To the contrary, The Apprentice has been a mere shell of its original show for years. Over commercialism and nepotism had taken over what was initially an intriguing concept.

But the series has lost nearly two-thirds of its audience since its first and most successful run in the spring of 2004.

The problem with the show is obvious. It went from and interesting premise with actual business lessons that could be learned of the dog eat dog world of corporate America in to an infomercial and ego boost for Trump and his family. After the first two year the show was no longer about the potential Trump apprentice wannabes and only about Donald Trump. Thus the ratings went in a crashing downward spiral. We shouldn’t have to tell Mark Burnett this but then again maybe we do. Any attempt to have a “reality” TV show be successful, the contestants need to be engaging and the story, not the host.