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MIPCOM CANNES today announced it has added Apprentice in Wonderland to its blockbuster lineup, a special spotlight session ahead of the 2024 US Presidential election detailing the critical role of reality TV series The Apprentice in launching the political career of Donald Trump. The session will be presented by Ramin Setoodeh, Variety Co-Editor in Chief and the New York Times best-selling author of Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass1, the definitive behind-the-scenes story of the NBC series that arguably changed the course of US history.

This timely presentation will be staged on Wednesday morning Oct. 23 (day 3 of MIPCOM CANNES) in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals. The 40th edition of the International Co-Production and Entertainment Content Market will take place in Cannes, France from 21-24 October 2024.

Setoodeh will give an impartial yet discerning look at the rise of Donald Trump from reality TV to US President. The ‘Apprentice in Wonderland’ author will share untold enlightening insights from his six lengthy on-the-record sit-down interviews with the former President, more than any other journalist or author since leaving office. This is in addition to Setoodeh’s countless conversations with over fifty key players involved in The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice series including network executives Jeff Zucker and Mark Burnett, as well as access to Trump family members, crew members, advisors and contestants.

Setoodeh will explore how popular culture, the cult of celebrity and the rise of the reality genre in the early noughties crystallised to catapult its host to the White House and create one of most influential, commercially successful US series, and one of the most travelled formats, of all time. Taken together Setoodeh’s interviews assemble the definitive take on what The Atlantic recently described as ‘the most consequential show in TV History’2 which ran on NBC for 13 years from 2004 and has generated over 25 international adaptations to date3.

“This is the most telling example of politics meeting entertainment of our times.” said Lucy Smith, Director of MIPCOM CANNES and MIP LONDON. “To learn of the circumstances, conversations and, often, the conflicts that cemented a global persona, became a catalyst for one successful US presidential run, and potentially a second, while in so doing creating one of the world’s most popular and enduring formats is both fascinating and timely.”

‘Apprentice In Wonderland’ is the second publication from Setoodeh, following 2019’s best-selling ‘Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View’ which chronicles the turbulent story of the various eras of the show that revolutionised morning television in the US, again based on unprecedented access to former hosts and supporting players.

The Mother of all Entertainment Content Markets, MIPCOM CANNES was attended by over 11 000 delegates from over 100 countries in 2023. Over 300 exhibitors are already confirmed to date for the 40th edition which takes place in Cannes 21-24 October 2024.

1 Published by HarperCollins – details here
2 The Atlantic 5.6.24 here
3 K7, Tracking The Giants 2023/4 – April 2024