Viewers Wait to Hear: 'You're Hired'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}America is waiting to see who will hear the long-awaited words "You're hired!" from Donald Trump (search).
The final two contestants on "The Apprentice" (search) to make it through Trump's tasks -- Harvard business school grad Kwame Jackson and entrepreneur Bill Rancic -- will sweat out the two-hour finale, hoping to land a plum $250,000-a-year job with The Donald himself.
Bill and Kwame, accompanied by their teams made up of booted contestants, will each oversee a major Trump event on the final episode -- a Jessica Simpson concert at the Trump Taj Mahal for Kwame and the Chrysler Trump Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club for Bill.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the penultimate episode, Nick Warnock and Amy Henry -- who engaged in a brief "show-mance" -- were both fired, and then brought back along with the show's "villain" Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (search) and several other ex-contestants to work with Bill and Kwame on their final tasks.
Omarosa, the most divisive member of the cast, was picked by Kwame -- but viewers saw her caught in an outright lie, which some speculate could cost Kwame the game. She has been a constant source of tension during the show's run and claims to have been the subject of a racial slur during the taping. Producers deny her claims.
The online betting site BetWWTS.com, which predicts odds on entertainment and sports events, has given Bill slight edge over Kwame.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Whoever proves to be the best man for the job will be announced live by Trump tonight at the end of the show, which airs from 9-11 p.m.
The unexpected "Apprentice"-mania has helped keep NBC's ratings high -- the show has averaged roughly 20 million viewers a week and is No. 1 among the 18-34-year-old demographic.
The real estate mogul's signature "You're fired" -- accompanied by his sharp, darting hand gesture -- quickly became the catch phrase du jour. And several contestants, including Omarosa and the loose cannon Sam Solovey, became the subject of much debate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Each week, Trump sent two teams to accomplish various tasks such as selling lemonade and convincing celebrities to donate their time for a charity auction. The team that made the most money were treated to various elegant prizes, like a ride on a private jet. The losers were sent to the boardroom where Trump fired one contestant per episode.
Hoping that "The Apprentice" will keep NBC afloat in a season when "Friends" and "Frasier" are going off the air, the network has signed on Trump for two more seasons of the reality show.