Lord Alan Sugar gives the Aussie edition of the show another spin, but it’s the celebrities who really steal the show.
There’s a new season of Celebrity Apprentice Australia just around the corner, and while you might not know every celebrity, it’s not necessary when they altogether make for incredible television.
I’ve watched the first episode of the new season before it airs this Sunday, May 22 at 7:00pm on Channel 9 and 9Now, and it was pretty damn good. The casting was nailed.
Of course Lord Alan Sugar returns as the boss, his second Australian season in the role (he’s the main guy in the UK’s civilian version). Alongside him are his trusty advisors, there to watch the two teams throughout the season and give their advice and thoughts to Lord Sugar in the boardroom.
Returning from last year is Boost Juice founder and Retail Zoo part-owner Janine Allis. And 2022 sees a newcomer join the ranks in Nick Bell, the founder of companies such as WME, Appscore and Removify.
Both of them are brilliant at painting the picture where it needs to be painted during the episode, and I’m glad there’s a strong duo standing side-by-side with the big boss.
We begin the episode not at the boardroom like last season, instead, the celebrities are treated to a luxurious rooftop meet-and-greet, before being introduced to the show officially by Lord Sugar.
Now the crop of celebrities competing in the show this year are nothing all too special. There’s your regular Reality TV stars, a Housewife, a comedian, an actor, a sports player, an Olympian, and a TV presenter or two.
We never expect Hugh Jackman, so don’t be surprised by the list this year. I will say I personally enjoyed the lineup of the 2021 season more, although don’t think we’re neither here nor there in terms of which season has more ‘celebrity’.
Last year you’ll remember we had the likes of Wippa, The Veronicas, Shaynna Blaze, Ross Noble and such, well here’s the full crop of celebrities competing this year…
- One of Australia’s most inspirational women, author and motivational speaker Turia Pitt
- National hosts of Australia’s No. 1 Drive radio show, KIIS FM’s Will and Woody
- Dual Olympic gold medallist and world champion swimmer Bronte Campbell
- Logie Award-winning actress, model and Australian sweetheart Jodi Gordon
- Rugby league great and Wests Tigers legend Benji Marshall
- ARIA Award Winning Musician Amy Shark
- Real Housewives of Melbourne star Gamble Breaux
- Married at First Sight’s most controversial bride and socialite Beck Zemek
- Hollywood actor and Australian Film Institute award winner Vince Colosimo
- Winner of The X-Factor, ARIA Award winner and singer-songwriter Samantha Jade
- A queen of Australian comedy, trailblazer and author Jean Kittson
- Renowned television presenter and actor Darren McMullen
- The face of Givenchy and international supermodel Jarrod Scott
- Secretary to former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and social media sensation Carla from Bankstown
- One of The Block’s most successful All-Stars, renovation expert Ronnie Caceres
- Two-time Australian Ninja Warrior semi-finalist and former international NRL star Eloni Vunakece
It’s pretty on par with last year’s season don’t you think?
Your biggest standout faces really are the likes of Will and Woody, Amy Shark, Turia Pitt, Benji Marshall and Darren McMullen. If you watch a lot of Reality TV, and I mean, a lot, you’ll double the number.
But there’s a good reason why casting those Reality TV faces really pay off… they know how to play it up for the cameras and bring great television! While Bronte Campbell might be great in the pool, she’s not exactly giving the most entertaining interviews and one-liners.
It’s clear the pre-established TV personalities are your real characters. They’re the villains, the heroes, the funny people – you name it. They can sell themselves to the audience well.
It was an inspired choice to bring both Will and Woody together this season, competing as one. They provide real comedic relief where it’s needed, and bouncing it off each other makes them real stars when it comes to the interviews. But for their fellow team members, it can often hit a sour note.
I don’t think it would come to anyone’s surprise that MAFS‘ bride Beck Zemek is quickly the source of drama. Whether she likes it or not, it’s the reputation attached to her regardless.
I did think Gamble Breaux would be much in the same boat, and while she most certainly is, she also really came to play hard on this show, and it shows with her task performance.
There’s drama elsewhere though, I didn’t quite realise just how arrogant Darren McMullen was. It feels kind of like a forced character trying to fit a casting stereotype. While others come across as fairly genuine in their approach, Darren’s just turning it up a little too much. And I don’t think it’ll win over viewers.
For someone who doesn’t watch The Block, Ronnie Caceres was one of the standout players in the premiere for me. He was a treat to watch in the interviews. Jarrod Scott was also a surprise hit , although his archetype really emulated one David Genat from last season. That’s not a bad thing, just not a new thing.
Rounding out some of the highlighted players, Samantha Jade has such a bright personality it really shines through the screen and beyond her competitors. She keeps herself locked on the task at hand and you can see she’s committed to the show she’s signed onto.
I also enjoyed celebrities such as Benji Marshall, Carla from Bankstown and Turia Pitt, but there wasn’t anything too amazing to single them out as a showstopping cast member.
Of course, it’s not all about the celebrities, the tasks and raising money for charity plays centre stage this episode as well.
When it comes to the first task, it’s always a must for every season to start with a bang. That’s just good producing. And any fundraising task is sure to achieve that.
But I was surprised when the first task wasn’t the most exciting to watch. How the celebrities handled it and interacted was gold, but what was set out to be achieved kind of felt only a little bronze to me. There was no real chaos, despite the fact one celebrity described it as such. It didn’t cut through as much as what other premiere tasks have, such as hosting an artwork auction with Wippa’s Dad-Bod. That was fantastic television.
What I do love about watching both teams work out how to navigate a fundraising task is learning who’s who in everyone’s little black book of media contacts. Everybody knows somebody, and you see some real famous faces pop up throughout the episode.
Already, it’s clear just who’s going to be able to reach into deep pockets to bring out some cash against those who might be a little dry in that department. That’s where your ‘celebrity’ status really kicks in.
And I mean, hey, some of these contacts might be used for next season’s cast anyway.
Without fail it seems like one team manages to coast well through the job, but the other really struggles to find their footing at any point. But, with the magic of editing, things quickly turn each way. One mistake might suddenly mean the difference between winning and losing, so it’s somewhat of a nailbiter heading into the boardroom. I was doubting myself at times.
Watching Lord Alan Sugar seemingly peering down onto the celebrities below him in the reception area is a running gag from last year I can’t get over. I can’t tell if he actually does it, or if it’s a green screen, or filmed after/beforehand. But it’s just an odd little thing he’s got almost every episode in this Australian version that cracks me up every time. Especially when he just pops out of a door in front of the celebrities mere moments afterwards.
And let’s not forget the assistant Miss Moneypenny turning off the TV in the winners lounge right when the drama begins to heat up. She’s a warmly welcomed return to the show.
The winning team is obviously decided based on task performance, so there’s no disputing the result there.
But when it came to deliberating why the losing team lost, I wasn’t exactly sold on a definitive person to blame. And I don’t think that’s due to not having a reason, but more just disjointed editing failing to tell the full picture.
The three that end up facing the boardroom do make sense, but merely because it feels like nobody else was even presented as an option for attributing to the failure of the task.
In the end, I didn’t quite agree with Lord Sugar’s decision on who was fired. But I didn’t feel particularly swayed either which way.
That’s probably the problem. I do want to feel passionate about who is fired, but it didn’t really brew up for me this time. What did get me pumped was seeing what would go down in future episodes based on what happened in this first.
Ultimately, the premiere really was the warm up to an exciting season. Characters are getting settled, the celebrities are understanding what’s required, and they are set to provide for some entertaining television.
There was no issue with who was selected to participate this season, every archetype box gets filled and everyone’s bound to know someone in the mix. Put them altogether and there’s a great clash of personalities I’m interested to see flourish right to the end.
But the mechanics of the show in its editing and less-than-impressive task show there’s room to improve. And with room to go up, a stellar cast can really carry the rough edges for a little bit.
There were a couple of very minor format changes that the Apprentice loyalist in me wasn’t a fan of, but they’re superfluous at the end of the day.
What needed to be achieved for a second-round of Lord Alan Sugar as the boss was certainly ticked off. There’s a great cast, some captivating interactions, and a real sense of ‘business’. If future episodes can nail the task and the editors can better tell the story moving forward, I think we’ll see viewers flock in droves to this new season.
Celebrity Apprentice Australia gets a thumbs up – not a Sugar ‘fired’ point – from me.
