NBC renews ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ for 2nd cycle

‘We are already getting calls from high-profile celebrities,’ reality chief says

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By Nellie Andreeva

Hollywood Reporter

updated 11:08 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2008

LOS ANGELES - NBC has picked up “The Celebrity Apprentice” for a second cycle.

The order completes a strong comeback for the “Apprentice” franchise, which had been canceled in May before new NBC programming chief Ben Silverman brought it back with a celebrity version. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

In what will be “Apprentice’s” eighth installment overall, the reality competition hosted by Donald Trump will stick to the celebrity format, featuring entertainment figures competing in business tasks for charitable causes.

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The second season of “Celebrity Apprentice” will premiere in January.

The first season of “Celebrity Apprentice” will wrap with a live two-hour finale March 27. So far, the contestants have raised more than $1 million for various charities, including the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY, the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“This revved-up installment of ’The Apprentice’ has been a game-changer for the series,” NBC reality chief Craig Plestis said. “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 2.”

Despite some declines since its premiere, “Celebrity Apprentice” is the top Thursday series among adults 18-49, averaging a 3.9 rating/10 share in the demographic and 9.3 million viewers overall.

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