“The Apprentice” might be coming back to our screens sometime soon, and it won’t be some RINO governor taking the helm for Donald Trump.
Instead, it’ll be Donald Trump at the reins. Donald Trump Jr., that is.
While dad is busy running the country, it appears that the eldest Trump child will prospectively be filling his father’s old shoes, firing most and hiring one in the reality show reboot being discussed by Amazon MGM Studios, according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday.
And, as the Journal points out, it’s yet another sign that Hollywood — or what really remains of it, which is to say streaming giants that occasionally dip their toes into theatrical and broadcast releases — realizes that shoving left-wing propaganda down half of America’s throat like a goose being ravaged for foie gras isn’t good business.
“Amazon’s deliberations about rebooting the TV show — and potentially casting Trump’s son in the starring role — is the latest example of how it has sought programming that would appeal to the president and his base of conservative supporters,” the Journal reported Wednesday.
“In some instances, the first family has profited from the push,” it added, noting that Amazon distributed the documentary “Melania” about the first lady.
As it turns out, that doesn’t seem to have been a bad business decision. Trying to recreate “The Apprentice” with other non-Trump hosts after he began his run for the presidency did not go so well:
In March 2025, Amazon released episodes of the original “The Apprentice” series on Prime Video. There was a rush to resurface the reality show after Trump won the 2024 election, some of the people said.
When it first aired, “The Apprentice” was a major hit for NBC. Trump not only starred in the show but was an executive producer and shared in the financial success of the series. It later spawned spinoffs starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Martha Stewart, though those variations were short-lived. Just last week, Trump posted on Truth Social an old newspaper article about the first season’s high ratings.
Rebooting “The Apprentice” would fit into Amazon’s push to appeal to broader audiences as it competes with Netflix and others for viewers. For example, Hopkins has been pushing for more faith-based programming to differentiate Prime Video, according to former executives.
Of course, this will spawn accusations that Amazon is cozying up to the president; the Journal ended its article by noting this about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who retired from CEO of the company but remains executive chairman: “This week Bezos was among the guests mingling with Trump at a White House state dinner honoring King Charles III.”
Yes, well, rich Americans do tend to do stuff like that, in case you hadn’t noticed. Nobody was flinging around the same innuendoes when Netflix was getting chummy with the Obamas or with the British royals’ embarrassing American-based annex, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
(Spotify was also associated with the latter duo, although it produced little substantive, profitable material, just like Netflix’s relationship with the woke royals; podcaster and Spotify exec Bill Simmons once quipped, not without a bit of agita, that the perfect show title for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would have been “The F***ing Grifters.”)
It’s also worth noting, during the days of peak woke, that Netflix also cozied up to figures like bigger grifter Ibram X. Kendi, promising to produce an animated series titled (no really) “Antiracist Baby.”
That project was shelved in 2022, amid layoffs and cancellations at the terminally woke streamer, according to the New York Post.
There are plenty of ugly things about our streaming society, of course, from TikTok algorithms to brain rot to getting paid millions for being a duchess giving practical tips for kids birthday parties.
(Celebrity guest Mindy Kaling said that she learned about “simple ways to do a homemade kids’ party” on Markle’s homemaking show, including the fact that “you’re not supposed to use overhead lighting when people come over. You’re supposed to use little lamps.” If I could write satire like that, I’d … well, have a deal with Netflix, and a show with better ratings than Meghan’s.)
But the great part is that when you, like, pay for stuff and actually get to pick what you watch, you can’t have stuff shoved down your throat. Amazon seems to understand that, and other companies will likely follow suit.
The Trump Derangement Syndrome™ crowd will probably have apoplexy over this, but the point is that Amazon doesn’t do shows that won’t make money, and this isn’t a vanity project but something a lot of people will watch. It’s also yet another sign that wokeness’ vice-like grip on the country is ending.
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