Maybe Donald Trump can fit The Celebrity Apprentice into his presidential schedule? Entertainment Weekly reports the first episode of The New Celebrity Apprentice—with Arnold Schwarzenegger replacing the president-elect—got 4.9 million viewers when it premiered Monday night. That's a 44% drop from the previous season in 2015. It's possible the NBC reality show lost nearly half its viewership because of its connection to Trump—who still has a producer's credit—though EW says that seems "far-fetched." It's more likely a combination of people boycotting Trump, a hosting change, airing on Monday instead of Sunday, and the current lineup of celebrity contestants.
But, wait there's more. The Wrap reports the massive slide in the ratings could also be due to the two-year break between seasons, competition from the Rose Bowl, airing too close to the New Year's holiday, DirecTV dropping some NBC affiliates, or "maybe it just wasn't very good." It might not be a stretch to say many people would welcome Trump foregoing the presidency and returning to his reality TV roots. The New York Times calls the Trump-less New Celebrity Apprentice "dreary" and "numbingly boring," with a host that is all "robotic professionalism." "The sheer pleasure [Trump] took in saying 'you're fired'...gave the show a comic dimension that distinguished it," the Times states. (More Celebrity Apprentice stories.)
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