• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, 7 hours ago

“The Apprentice Jr.” sounds like a title for a kids’ version of the renowned reality-competition series that catapulted Donald Trump to the White House -- like the Gordon Ramsay cooking show “MasterChef Jr.,” for example.

But the only kid being rumored as the possible star of a new reboot of “The Apprentice” is Trump’s kid, Donald Trump Jr., who is no kid at age 48.

To clarify, “The Apprentice Jr.” is not a title anyone is floating for a new “Apprentice.” The TV Blog made it up.

A new version of the old show using the old, grown-up title is reportedly in development or at least being discussed at Amazon, according to a Wall Street Journal story last week. 

“People familiar with the matter [Journal jargon for unnamed sources] said executives at Amazon internally have discussed casting someone very close to Trump as the host if they were to move ahead with filming new episodes: his oldest son Donald Trump Jr.,” the paper reported last Thursday.

The story included a statement from Amazon confirming part of the story. 

“Since our acquisition of MGM, we have had preliminary internal discussions about what’s next for the ‘The Apprentice’ as a property,” an Amazon spokesman said. Amazon Prime added the old “Apprentice” series in March 2025.

The spokesman added “that the show isn’t in active development and any potential host hasn’t been selected,” the Journal said.

In response to these rumored discussions about reviving “The Apprentice,” the TV Blog asks: Why bother?

One reason floated or implied in the WSJ story and other news stories that followed the Journal story was that Amazon wants to curry favor with the Trump administration.

The Journal story noted that Amazon paid $40 million to distribute “Melania,” the authorized documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.

Whether or not President Trump looks favorably on a new “Apprentice,” the launch of a revived version of the show in this day and age will have none of the impact of the original. The TV industry today is simply not built that way.

The original “The Apprentice” starring Donald Trump Sr. premiered in 2004, when the broadcast networks still ruled television and it was still possible for a new show to make a sensation.

The star of the show was a major celebrity and an uncanny self-promoter. The concept was new and the producer was Mark Burnett. 

It became a big hit and even more importantly, it became a show everybody talked about. 

It turned Trump, who up until that time was mainly a tabloid celebrity, into a national name brand and set the stage for his election as President in 2016.

Could a new “Apprentice” show do the same for one of the Trump children? In a word, no. 

It will get a lot of media attention in advance of its premiere. But after Episode One, nobody will care.