Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Lost Almost Half Of Its Viewers


The Trump-less Celebrity Apprentice seems to have taken a steep decline in ratings. With Arnold Schwarzenegger taking the reins after the president-elect exited the show, the future seemed rather bleak.

The Austrian bodybuilder, who became a popular action star and, eventually, the governor of California, was not received warmly by the audience. The show plummeted in ratings with 4.9 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. It is a far cry from Donald Trump’s last season of Celebrity Apprentice, where he garnered 6.31 million viewers with a 2.4 rating in the key 18-49 demographic.

Celebrity Apprentice premiered last Monday with a two-hour episode featuring the Terminator actor as the new host. When he asked YouTube celebrity Carrie Keagan and Carnie Wilson to exit, he expectedly swapped out Trump’s catchphrase “you’re fired” with his very own.

“Carrie, you’re terminated” and “Carnie, you’re terminated — hasta la vista, baby!”

According to the Wrap, there are several possible reasons why the show lost almost half of its viewers. For starters, the previous host of Celebrity Apprentice is now the president of the United States of America, so people who love Donald Trump might not be interested to see a new person hosting the show. Besides, Trump is still the executive producer, so there might be a good chunk of his political critics veering away from watching the Celebrity Apprentice.

Another reason is that the previous season premiered on a Sunday night while Arnold’s Celebrity Apprentice aired on a Monday. Sunday evenings generally have more people available to watch the premier, so it might add some weight to the 6.31 million viewers.

Lastly, there were several shows airing during the same time slot as the Celebrity Apprentice. Fox aired MasterChef Celebrity Showdown, which might have gotten a chunk of the audience who usually watch reality shows. ABC, on the other hand, aired the season premiere of The Bachelor, which received 6.6 million viewers and 2.1 rating. ESPN’s exciting Rose Bowl coverage might have taken a lot of its potential viewers too according to the report.

However, there is the sad reality that it might because people just did not like it. Yahoo TV reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the right person for the show. His catchphrase is nothing compared to Donald’s, adding that he was just not fun enough.

Furthermore, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s insistence of being called the governor inside the boardroom does not even come close to how Donald Trump does it. Arnold does not have the right blend of charisma and self-delusion, which was perfectly portrayed by Trump.

But there seems to be another person during the premiere night that might have been the better choice – Tyra Banks. She was hired as an adviser, however, with her business pedigree, decisiveness, and entertaining qualities, she definitely fit the role. According to the report, Tyra Banks was on point the whole episode and has a natural for what she does.

Celebrity Apprentice this season has a mixed bunch of stars competing to win the title and $250,000. Among these stars are Boy George, Vince Neil of Motley Crue, Jon Lovitz, and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. Aside from Tyra Banks, Arnold Schwarzenegger is also being advised by Warren Buffett, Jessica Alba, Steve Ballmer, and his nephew Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger.

Although the show did not have that good of a start, there might still be hope. It is still too early at this point to axe the show, and Arnold just might turn things around. For now, NBC will have to keep their fingers crossed that they attract more viewers. Celebrity Apprentice airs every Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

[Featured Image by Jordan Strauss/AP Images]

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