Kenneth Glad
A long-dormant reality franchise is quietly re-entering industry conversations, driven less by nostalgia and more by strategic interest from a major streaming player. No deals, no greenlight just yet. But the noise around The Apprentice is getting louder.
Interest in the show’s future picked up after Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, which handed the company control of The Apprentice library.
According to The Wall Street Journal, executives have held early discussions about what to do with the brand, though nothing concrete has followed.
“Since our acquisition of MGM, we have had preliminary internal discussions about what’s next for The Apprentice as a property,” an Amazon spokesperson said, adding that “any reporting on details of the show or names of potential hosts would be purely speculative.”
This is not just about reviving an old show. Streaming platforms are increasingly leaning on recognizable formats to cut through competition, and few properties come with as much built-in recognition, and baggage, as this one.
Trump weighs in
When asked about the reports at the White House, President Donald Trump did not dismiss them. Instead, he leaned into the uncertainty.
“Well, I’ve been hearing it,” he said, according to PEOPLE. “Look, we had a great success. Fourteen seasons, and The Apprentice was a tremendous success. So, I’ve been hearing that a little bit.”
Then came the more pointed remark, aimed at his son having a potential role.
“So, we’ll see what happens. He’s a good guy. He’d be probably good. He’s got a little charisma going. You need a little charisma for that sucker. So, we’ll see what happens.”
Still, PEOPLE reports that even Donald Trump Jr.’s inner circle had not heard of any formal approach.
A complicated legacy
The Apprentice was once a defining piece of early 2000s television, blending business ambition with personality-driven drama. Digi24 notes that the show “helped popularize Donald Trump among the general public.”
Its trajectory changed sharply after Trump entered politics, however. NBC cut ties, and Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped in as host in 2017, but the show never fully recovered.
“When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it,” Schwarzenegger said in an interview with Empire.
“It’s not about the show … because everyone I ran into came up to me and said, ‘I love the show … but I turned it off because as soon as I read Trump’s name I’m outta there!’”
He added, “It’s a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division.”
Divided legacy
That divide between entertainment value and political identity still hangs over the franchise. It is not just background noise. It is central to whether a reboot could work at all.
Amazon has already tested the waters by streaming older episodes on Prime Video. Digi24 reports those reruns generated between 100,000 and one million dollars in 2024 revenue, a modest but notable signal of lingering interest.
Reviving The Apprentice would not simply mean bringing back a format. It would mean reintroducing a brand inseparable from the political figure who defined it.
For now, the idea of Donald Trump Jr. stepping into that role remains hypothetical, and the future of the project is uncertain.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, PEOPLE, Digi24, Empire
