The Apprentice

The rumour mills of late have certainly been abuzz as to who will be appearing on Nine’s new reality series The Celebrity Apprentice Australia, which starts filming next month.

 Some of the names that will be taking part in the show include former Hawthorn captain Shane Crawford, outspoken feminist Germaine Greer, Underbelly: Razor’s Lincoln Lewis, former politician Pauline Hanson, and The BGlock’s Polly Porter. The show will be hosted by Mark Bouris.

Amongst those that had been speculated to be part of the show, but will not be are former pop star Peter Andre, former Labor leader Mark Latham and Geoffrey Edelsten – who was only going to appear on the show if his wife Byrnne agreed to sign up.

Brynne Edelsten appeared on Seven’s Dancing with the Stars earlier this year.

Other names said to be approached but won’t be appearing include fallen AFL player Bredan Fevola and former NSW premiere Kristina Keneally.

Production company Fremantle Media Australia says that host of the US series of The Apprentice Donlad Trump, is expected to make an appearance on the show.

Source: Sunday Telegraph.

The Nine Network has reportedly given the green-light to a local version of the reality series The Celebrity Apprentice.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, a production source confirmed the series will begin filming in September and would screen sometime next year.

The Apprentice Australia previously aired on Nine in the final quarter of 2009, but performed only moderately well for the broadcaster despite receiving praise for slick production values. Many attributed its performance to the late Monday 9:30pm timeslot it received, with some extended episodes finishing well past 11:00pm.

While the final reached a respectable audience of 834,000, the series premiered to only 692,000 viewers and recorded a season average of 754,000.

The newspaper said that it was unclear whether season one host and businessman Mark Bouris would return, although Bouris has previously suggested that he would be keen on a second season.

FremantleMedia Australia’s chief executive, Ian Hogg, recently told The Australian that another season of The Apprentice Australia was on the cards.

“We’re very confident The Apprentice will be making an appearance on Australian television soon. It could be [on Nine]. The last one was,” he said.

FremantleMedia made a long-term deal with Survivor creator Mark Burnett’s production house One Three Television in June, giving the company access to his suite of television formats including The Apprentice across Australia and New Zealand.

Source: Media Spy

Survivor to follow current format

The next season of Survivor, to be held in Samoa, will follow the ‘redemption island’ format as used in the recent season. Also, two former well-known contestants will return as happened this season.

Fifth season of Chuck to be last

The president of NBC has confirmed that the upcoming fifth season of Chuck is likely to be the show’s last. Bob Greenblatt said of the recent decision to renew it for season number five: “It seemed to be the way to end it appropriately… and not get into a situation where it might end or might not end, and then it ends and we haven’t concluded the storyline. It gives [producers] a chance to plan for it. I think that’s the best way to do it.”

Love Hewitt heading to Law & Order: SVU?

Jennifer Love Hewitt is reported to be close to joining Law & Order: SVU for the show’s next season. The actress is said to be in advanced talks to appear in the crime series alongside Mariska Hargitay Christopher Meloni.

Trump not running for president

The Apprentice’s Donald Trump has announced that he will not be running for president in 2012 as a republican candidate. Trump said the decision followed “considerable deliberation and reflection” after weeks of an unofficial campaign.

Mundine inspiration for Spartacus role

Australian actor Dustin Clare has said he modelled his character in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena off boxer Anthony Mundine. Clare says he drew inspiration from the way Mundine carries himself in the ring.

Downton Abbey wins BAFTA TV Craft awrads

New ITV series Downton Abbey has led the way at the recent BAFTA TV Craft Awards in the UK, picking up two prizes for direction and sound.

CSI actress labels Bieber a brat on set

CSI cast member Marg Helgenberger has described Justin Bieber as being immature on the set of the crime series when he guest-starred. The actress told a radio station that Bieber acted like “a brat”.

Jersey Shore fourth season delayed

Production on Jersey Shore’s fourth season in Florence, Italy has been delayed due to a visit to the city by the Italian president. Florence officials were said to be reluctant to give permission to film during the visit.

Palin gets reality series

The daughter of former American vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has landed herself her own reality show. 20-year-old Bristol Palin will have cameras follow her as she moves from Alaska to Los Angeles to work for a charity.

Trump defends against racism

Donald Trump has denied being racist due to the fact that a black contestant won The Apprentice back in 2005. Trump was defending himself against recurring allegations of racism and cited Randal Pinkett’s 2005 win as a reason why he shouldn’t be seen as racist.

Top Gear gets revenge on Stig

The Top Gear presenters have exacted their revenge on The Stig on a recent episode of the motoring show in the UK, by using cardboard cut-outs of the infamous test driver as target practice. Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond took part in a drive-by shooting challenge which involves firing at the life-size Stig cut-outs with Hammond turning his around and saying: “[I'm] turning him round so I can shoot him in the back, ‘cos that’s how it’s done.” The stunt was in response to the recent revelations in an autobiography by racing driver Ben Collins that he has been working as The Stig on the BBC show.

Apprentice contestant charged with fraud

One of the contestants on the latest season of The Apprentice in the UK has admitted four counts of fraud in court recently. The contestant was arrested for the charges before the show screened and is set to be sentenced early next year. Suffice to say, he was not hired on the show.

Armed woman sends TV station off air

An American TV station was forced to go off-air during a live evening news broadcast after a woman walked into the station’s lobby with a loaded gun held to her head. The North Carolina station bailed on its news broadcast in order to evacuate everyone from the building while police attempted to disarm the woman, She has since been taken to a hospital for mental evaluation.

Top ten banned MTV clips

The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a top ten list of the most controversial music videos that got banned from being broadcast on MTV due to their provocative or offensive content. Not surprisingly, Madonna features multiple times on the list. Check it out here.

Wednesday, December 1 at 8.30pm on FOX8

Donald Trump’s The Apprentice returns to the non-celebrity edition. In a first for the reality series, the business tycoon introduces a set of people who lost their jobs during recession, giving them a second chance to rebuild their life and pride. Along with the uplifting edition, Instead of giving lavish rewards to the winning team, Mr. Trump would award the victorious project manager an opportunity to meet business leaders in the hope that it would provide him or her a leg-up of their career after the show. Nevertheless, the ultimate winner will still be hired by one of the mogul’s companies and gets a six-figure salary.

Ep 7.

Wednesday, November 17 at 8.30pm on FOX8

Donald Trump’s The Apprentice returns to the non-celebrity edition. In a first for the reality series, the business tycoon introduces a set of people who lost their jobs during recession, giving them a second chance to rebuild their life and pride. Along with the uplifting edition, Instead of giving lavish rewards to the winning team, Mr. Trump would award the victorious project manager an opportunity to meet business leaders in the hope that it would provide him or her a leg-up of their career after the show. Nevertheless, the ultimate winner will still be hired by one of the mogul’s companies and gets a six-figure salary.

Ep 5.

Wednesday, November 10 at 8.30pm on FOX8

Donald Trump’s The Apprentice returns to the non-celebrity edition. In a first for the reality series, the business tycoon introduces a set of people who lost their jobs during recession, giving them a second chance to rebuild their life and pride. Along with the uplifting edition, Instead of giving lavish rewards to the winning team, Mr. Trump would award the victorious project manager an opportunity to meet business leaders in the hope that it would provide him or her a leg-up of their career after the show. Nevertheless, the ultimate winner will still be hired by one of the mogul’s companies and gets a six-figure salary..

Wednesday, November 3 at 8.30pm on FOX8

Donald Trump’s The Apprentice returns to the non-celebrity edition. In a first for the reality series, the business tycoon introduces a set of people who lost their jobs during recession, giving them a second chance to rebuild their life and pride. Along with the uplifting edition, Instead of giving lavish rewards to the winning team, Mr. Trump would award the victorious project manager an opportunity to meet business leaders in the hope that it would provide him or her a leg-up of their career after the show. Nevertheless, the ultimate winner will still be hired by one of the mogul’s companies and gets a six-figure salary.

Ep 2.

Here are some important dates for some channel 9 shows.

1. Domestic Blitz – which only returned a few weeks ago – will have its season finale on Sunday Sept 13 at 6.30pm.

2. The Farmer Wants A Wife will finish with a special two hour finale on Monday September 14 at 8.30pm. That means, for the east coast, that Drop Dead Diva will not be seen that week (and Adelaide and Perth – Mentalist repeats will be off that week).

No doubt the two hour finale is in a bid to both finish the show off as it has not done that well this season as well as attract a better share of the ratings that night.

The conclusion of Domestic Blitz and Farmer Wants a Wife means that there will be two openings in 9’s schedule for the week commencing September 20. One of those times – my guess would be Monday 8.30 – will be the Apprentice Australian Version.

3. NRL States: 7.30 Friday September 11 sees the first NRL Qualifying Final live. While on Saturday the 12^th, the 2^nd and 3^rd qualifying finals are played back to back from 6.30pm.

That means that Australia’s Funniest Home Videos will be seen at 5pm on Saturday September 12. The video show remains at 6.30pm for the AFL states (but this may change in Melbourne if the Melbourne Storm are in the finals). Currently planned programming shows the 2^nd Qualifier on at 11.30pm in Melbourne, after 2 yet to be confirmed movies.

4. NRL States: 7.30 Friday September 18 sees the 1^st Semi Final air, while on the following Saturday night, the 2^nd semi final will be seen at 6.30pm.

That means that Australia’s Funniest Home Videos will be seen at 5pm on Saturday September 19. The video show remains at 6.30pm for the AFL states (but this may change in Melbourne if the Melbourne Storm are in the finals).

5. Tuesday nights: Remain the same, with 20-1 at 7.30, 2.5 Men at 8.30 and a movie at 9.30. The movie for Sept 1^st is Blades of Glory and the movie on September the 8^th is Goldmember. Some guides, however, show this as a “TBA” so maybe some programming changes to come here.

6. Wednesday nights see the new series Money For Jam airing from Sept 2 at 8pm. Two and A Half Men still on at 7.30pm Wednesdays.

As always, this information subject to late change by channel 9. Check guides (internet or EPGs) closer to the date of airing.