Andy DehnartThe Apprentice 6 almost returned to its third-season format of having two groups–besides men and women–face off against each other. Specifically, “they were going to do lawyers versus non-lawyers this season,” Derek Arteta, the candidate who was fired earlier this season, told me.
He said that he suspects that didn’t happen because, “Who’s going to root for lawyers? This is all rumor that I’ve heard. I think what happened is they just couldn’t find enough likeable lawyers. That’s why you’re seeing so many lawyers this season.” Six of the 18 candidates this season are lawyers. Last season there were four; during the fourth season, there was just one.
We talked for an MSNBC.com Q&A about all things Apprentice, and he answered questions that many viewers have. For example, what’s in the suitcases candidates take to the boardroom? They’re not empty; they actually contain the candidates’ actual clothes, Derek said. But “that’s not all of your clothes. … It’s basically enough stuff for you to survive on for a few days until you get your clothes back.”
How long does each task take? About 30 hours, because the show follows the “‘Survivor’ timeline: everything is three days,” Derek said. The task ends on day two when the winning team is announced and goes on their reward, while the boardroom follows individual interviews on day three. (Thus, the interviews we see are taped pre-Boardroom but post-task.)
And does Donald Trump use cue cards when introducing a task? Not at all. In fact, Trump simply looks at cards from the producers and “delivers it in one take.” In other words, he’s just so awkward it seems like he’s reading cue cards.