The Apprentice
With Sir Alan Sugar
Factual Entertainment Series
12 x 60’ for 2005/6
What is it? – Nailing the proposition: the big idea, the core concept in an
intriguing top line / tag line / hook
The opening of the treatment is crucial. You need to convince from the top that you’re
selling a developed and realisable series/programme (not vague content), possible
territory, issue or fascinating facts. Don’t go into detail, but write a couple of
sentences that summarises the big idea and intrigues and excites the reader. Use
words and phrases that convey the mood and tone.
For example:
This is a job interview from hell. For twelve, gruelling weeks, fifteen of Britain’s finest
business prospects will battle it out to try and land the dream job: working for Britain’s
most belligerent boss.
Who’s in it? - Talent & role / characters
If it’s an observational documentary or it’s an authored Presenter-led series, this
paragraph is key and you might want to put it immediately after the top line. This is
where you make your main character/characters come alive. Background,
personalities, quotes – anything that begins to help the reader engage with them.
What kind of a person are they? What’s their journey about and why are they going
on it? What do they want? What’s going to stand in their way? What might they
achieve/find/discover? If you’re using a Presenter, make sure that you give a clear
sense of their role across an episode; and if you’re selling new talent, make a taster.
For example:
The big sell in ‘The Apprentice’ would obviously have been Sir Alan Sugar, himself.
This paragraph would require some background on his business empire, his
accumulated wealth, his character and personality (“famously hard to please”). The
question that needs nailing is, “why him?” So you would concentrate on describing
his abrasive and confrontational management style, which suggests drama and
conflict: the big show engagers. Nick and Margaret have an important though minor
role to play in the format as his ‘courtiers’, so some information on them would also
be appropriate.
The Candidates would need a paragraph to themselves. Although at the
development stage you would not be expected to have signed them up, you would
need to give a very clear sense of what types of characters/personalities you would
be casting. For example: Alpha males & females in their late twenties and thirties already successful in business. Brash, arrogant and self-confident, who will do
whatever it takes to win.
Narrative overview - Story arc – what’s going to happen?
This purpose of this paragraph is to help the reader to conceptualise/visualise how
an episode could be structured. Keep it simple and describe the big building
blocks/key incidents or format points rather than a detailed scene breakdown at this
stage. Describe how each episode opens and closes. N.B. If you’re selling a new
format show, attach a running order to your treatment.
For example:
At the start of each episode, Sir Alan briefs the candidates on the task that they must
perform. They’re divided into two teams, and a project manager is appointed. Nick
and Margaret are assigned to each team. At the end of the allotted time, the
candidates assemble in Sir Alan’s boardroom to hear which team has won. The
winners are given a ‘treat’ as a reward and leave the boardroom. The losers must
face an exhaustive inquisition from Sir Alan to find out why they lost and who’s to
blame. Finally, Sir Alan fires one of them.
What will we see & how will we experience it? - Big story engagers / style /
mood / world
It’s really important to help the reader to ‘feel’ the mood and style of the ‘story’. A
good technique is to select a pivotal and ‘dramatic’ scene/incident and describe the
location, the action, how it might be shot & edited, what music you would use and the
style of commentary you would employ.
For example:
The boardroom would be an obvious choice in ‘The Apprentice’: the massive glass
table; multi-camera shoot; lighting; music, pauses, cutaways - conveying high drama,
tension, aggression and conflict.
Why now? - Proof that your idea is current / relevant / noisy and important
rather than interesting
The ‘now’ quality in the sell of any potential new content is becoming more and more
important. How will your series connect with a contemporary audience? What’s going
on in their lives? Does it reflect some important, universal theme that we can all
relate to? Is it meeting their needs and expectations in a rapidly changing world? Or
exploring big and powerful issues that effect us all? Above all, you need to
demonstrate why a potential audience will engage with your series and find it
irresistible, must-watch TV.
For example:
The Apprentice exposes the world of business in the ultra-competitive and dog-eatdog noughties. We’re all curious about worlds that others inhabit and which many of
us will never experience first hand. We want to know about the strange creatures that
inhabit those worlds and what makes them tick. But it’s also obviously a game show
with winners and losers and contestants that we can engage with and care about. It’s
a roller coaster ride of conflict, tension and drama, and it unlocks themes that we’re
familiar with: the quest for success and of validation.
A powerful ending – final, memorable message
Finally, finish in style. Don’t let your treatment end limply. What might your final
memorable message be? Could you reprise the ‘big’ sell, the proposition that you
started with and rephrase it?
Sir Alan Sugar is on the hunt for a new Apprentice. Notoriously hard to please, the
Candidates must shine as team members but standout as individuals to convince him
that they’ve got what it takes. There’s only one job and across the series, fourteen
candidates will have the famous finger pointed at them and hear the immortal words,
“You’re fired!”