Will the roundtable go on after Donald Trump? During a Television Critics Association panel on Thursday, Aug. 13, in Beverly Hills, Calif., NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt revealed the future of the network’s reality competition series Celebrity Apprentice.
"Due to circumstances I'm sure everyone here is aware of regarding the host — I should say former host — we will not be producing a new edition of the show this season, but it will be back for the '16-'17 season with a new host,” Greenblatt told the crowd at the TCAs.
Trump, 69 — who had hosted since its creation in 2008 — was dumped by NBC after his controversial comments about immigrants from Mexico while announcing his presidential bid. He responded to his firing in a statement saying, “NBC is weak, and like everybody else is trying to be politically correct — that is why our country is in serious trouble.”
At the TCAs, Greenblatt addressed the presidential hopeful’s often candid and controversial remarks.
“Whether you agree with what he says, he says it without any kind of filter,” Greenblatt said. He also didn’t rule out letting Trump advertise on the network.
"I don't even know that we've even thought beyond Apprentice and the [Miss USA] pageant. That's a good question,” Greenblatt said. “I don't know the answer. I don't think somebody who is running for President and might possibly be the next leader of the free world would be banned from any activity with NBC, but we'll have to see how this plays out. At the moment we're sort of separated."
Greenblatt went on to say that the network has several candidates in mind to take over for Trump. Though he noted that several of the names being reported are “simply not true,” he did say, “As soon as we settle on someone, we will get the word out."
Would the network ever ask Trump to be host again? “Absolutely not!” was the definitive answer.
Tell Us: Would you watch The Celebrity Apprentice without Donald Trump?
