NBC Orders Second Season of Celebrity Apprentice

NEW YORK, January 31: NBC
has picked up a second season of The Celebrity Apprentice, which will premiere in January 2009, and has
announced that season one will conclude with a live two-hour finale on March 27
at 9 p.m.

The live finale will offer
highlights from the series penultimate show, where the final two contestants
held a celebrity charity auction and managed all aspects of a live concert,
with each celebrity responsible for different aspects of the event. Donald
Trump will announce the total monies raised for charity during the live event,
and he will also name his first-ever celebrity apprentice.

Season two will once again
feature celebrity contestants subjected to long hours, tough mental challenges
and intense scrutiny, all without the help of their agents, managers and
personal assistants. They will be competing in business-driven tasks around New
York City, while ultimately raising money and awareness for their respective
causes.

The Celebrity
Apprentice ranks as the number-one
Thursday series with adults 18 to 49 for the first quarter, averaging a 3.9
rating, with a 10 share of adults in the same demo and 9.3 million viewers
overall. The Apprentice is
produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions.
Mark Burnett and Donald Trump are executive producers, while Eden Gaha and Page
Feldman are co-executive producers.

In making the
announcement, Craig Plestis, the executive VP of alternative programming,
development and specials for NBC Entertainment, said, "This revved up
installment of The Apprentice
has been a game changer for the series. As the rest of this season unfolds, you
just keep watching, these episodes have been more thrilling than any season
before. There were times when I was screaming at the TV set, literally, and the
live finale will leave you on the edge of your seat. He added, "We are
blown away by the casts drive, energy and passion to not only play the game but
also to raise a lot of money and awareness for important causes. There's no
other show like it to prove your business brain and we are already getting
calls from high-profile celebrities who want to challenge themselves in season
two."

Mark Burnett, the creator and executive producer of The
Celebrity Apprentice, said,
"Everywhere I go, people come up to me and ask about Celebrity
Apprentice. Viewers are clearly
connecting, but beyond the terrific ratings, it's really the charities who are
winning the most. Our celebrities have raised over a million dollars to date.
We are so glad NBC has decided to continue this franchise."

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski