Television series

The Apprentice

Name: The Apprentice
Released: 2005
Cast: Alan Sugar, Mark Halliley, Karren Brady, Nick Hewer, Margaret Mountford

Workplace drama

The Apprentice is a reality competition where hopefuls pitch themselves to Alan Sugar for a £100,000 job and investment in their business. Each week they tackle brutal tasks—often deliberately rigged to fail—and face elimination in Sugar's boardroom. It's less about business acumen and more about watching likeable people collapse under pressure, ego and impossible logistics. Compulsively watchable.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy watching strangers squirm under a cool-eyed businessman's tests, and find the tension of a weekly boardroom verdict more gripping than any scripted drama.

Skip it if you find corporate ambition and CV-polishing bluster wearing thin, since the format is a long run of similar weekly tasks and each episode is a full hour.

What it asks of you: An hour a week for a very long run, with patience for repetition and talking heads; it moves at the pace of a corporate calendar, not a thriller.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Traitors2022

A psychological competition where contestants hunt for 'traitors' among themselves while completing tasks for prize money. It captures the same paranoia and alliance-building that makes Apprentice boardrooms electric, with higher emotional stakes.

But Very long season (season 1 is 17 episodes) and the format can feel repetitive if you're not invested in the cast. Slower paced than Apprentice's weekly eliminations.

Love Island2019

Daily episodes of attractive people in manufactured chaos, forced into situations designed to create conflict. The appeal is identical: watching real people negotiate friendship, ego and fear under pressure, unscripted and sometimes painful.

But If you find the dating drama exhausting rather than compelling, this will feel like homework. Also genuinely quite shallow, which is fine, but not for everyone.

MasterChef2005

Combines competition structure with immediate, visible success or failure. Contestants are under immense pressure to deliver, and you see their confidence collapse or soar week to week. Less cutthroat than Apprentice but more technically interesting.

But If you're watching for the boardroom drama and personal conflict, this is gentler and more focused on food. Some seasons lean into mentorship over elimination.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Apprentice

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Succession2018

Both are fundamentally about people competing for one person's approval and a prize. Succession is Apprentice for people who want real consequences and actual talent involved.

An HBO drama about ruthless rich people competing for a media empire. The boardroom scenes echo Apprentice's power dynamics, but with real stakes, actual intelligence, and moral complexity. It's what Apprentice looks like when the competition genuinely matters and the people are credible.

But Four seasons and dense with plot and character arcs. If you want quick, satisfying elimination drama, this is slow-burn and often bleak. Also expensive-feeling, which might make Apprentice feel trivial by comparison.

The Thick of It2005

Brutal comedy about incompetence, ego and survival in high-pressure environments. Same DNA as Apprentice's boardroom scenes—the panic, the blame-shifting, the desperate scrambling—but scripted and hilarious rather than real.

But Relentlessly dark and cynical. If you watch Apprentice for inspiration or genuine business lessons, this will make you despair about institutions entirely.

Survivor2000

The template for all reality competition shows. Contestants must balance teamwork with self-preservation in front of tribal council (Apprentice's boardroom ancestor). Raw, strategic, and sometimes genuinely shocking in its callousness.

But Older seasons are quite slow and sometimes feel repetitive. Modern streaming has spoiled the pacing expectations for people used to tighter editing.

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On2022

Couples undergo absurd relationship tests in a villa full of alternatives. The chaos is engineered, the stakes are real, and watching people crack under pressure is mesmerizing. Same voyeuristic appeal as Apprentice boardrooms.

But The relationship drama might feel trivial compared to job competition. Also genuinely uncomfortable at times—not fun discomfort, just awkward.

The Circle2020

Contestants live in isolation, communicating only through screens, competing for money while trying to avoid elimination. Paranoia, alliance-building and strategic gameplay in an artificial environment. Psychologically fascinating.

But The isolation format means less dynamic group interaction. Some find the premise contrived and the editing deliberately manipulative in ways that feel cheap.

Dragons' Den2005

Entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to wealthy investors in a high-stakes negotiation. The rejection and criticism is real and sometimes brutal. Watches like Apprentice condensed into pitches rather than tasks, with genuine money on the line.

But Success feels arbitrary—charisma matters more than viability. Also can feel repetitive if you watch too many episodes at once. Some pitches are clearly hopeless padding.