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Reality TV contestants to get Trumped
AFP - The Apprentice, a new reality show that debuts on the NBC network, strands participants in an environment so harsh it makes the deserts and jungles of the "Survivor" series seem a cakewalk.
The show's 16 competitors will be left to fend for themselves - and consume each other - in the shark pool of the American corporate boardroom, watched over by the most voracious predator of them all, Donald Trump.
Rather than a million-dollar cash prize, participants vie for a one-year job as a divisional president within the Trump Organization, with a $US250,000 ($A326,000) salary.
The men-versus-women format splits the competitors along gender lines into two teams, and asks them to complete a particular job assignment on each episode.
The winning team is awarded a lavish prize and someone from the losing team is personally fired by Trump, who continues to cull his way through the competitors until only one is left.
"This is the real jungle. The jungle that makes other jungles look tame," Trump said while during publicity interviews for the show.
The billionaire real estate mogul also insisted he took no pleasure in sacking staff, despite the aggressive persona he projects during "The Apprentice."
"There are some people who love firing people, but they are sickos," he said.
In the first episode, the two teams meet Trump on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the opening bell, only to be told their job is to head out and sell lemonade.
Each team gets $US250 ($A326.50) dollars starting capital. Whichever team makes the most money by the end of the day wins.
Other tasks include renovating and leasing an apartment, launching a brand of bottled water and getting it into restaurants, and operating bicycle rickshaws in Manhattan.
The candidates, selected from 215,000 applicants, include both MBA graduates and street entrepreneurs with no college education.
Early reviews of the series have pointed out that while the backgrounds may be diverse, all the contestants are implausibly photogenic.
"The Apprentice" producer is Mark Burnett, the man who brought "Survivor" to television screens four years ago.