It’s probably no surprise, but with Arnold Schwarzenegger replacing GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as the head honcho on “Celebrity Apprentice,” the NBC show is shifting from its longtime, Trump-centric roots in New York — and moving to California.
According to TMZ, the reason is simple: The former California governor and veteran action star can more easily attract big-name celebs from a L.A. base. Plus, there’s even talk that Arnold’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger might be part of the show — much like Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son Donald Jr. were.
While Patrick Schwarzenegger isn’t exactly a corporate bigwig in the mold of the Trump offspring, he is a businessman — owning two Blaze Pizza shops in the Los Angeles area.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger is the epitome of a global brand in entertainment and business, and his accomplishments in the political arena speak for themselves,” NBC’s reality TV president Paul Telegdy said in a statement. “It was Arnold’s personal passion for the format that Mark Burnett and Donald Trump built over the last decade, as well as his fresh take on how to take it to new heights for today’s audiences, that made him the man to hire. ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ … will be back!”
In addition to the physical move of the show, it’s expected that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s knack for comedy will add a much lighter note to the new “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Trump was quick to tweet congratulations and predict that the former Governator will be “great.”
Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He'll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2015
