I've already written one column today about why I thought Annie Duke, rather than Joan Rivers, should have won the just-concluded edition of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice. But now, the day after that finale, comes some news about Rivers and her next TV project, the timing of which smells awfully fishy...
TV Land announced today that, beginning August 12, Rivers will host a new series for that network called How'd You Get So Rich?, in which she will interview millionaires about their good fortune, and how they got it.
Nothing suspicious there. But read to the bottom of the press release, and it turns out How'd You Get So Rich? is co-produced by Mark Burnett Productions, with Burnett himself listed as one of the show's co-executive producers.
Mark Burnett Productions also happens to be the production company, and Burnett one of the prime creative forces, behind Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. So, unless this TV Land deal was hammered out of whole cloth in the hours since Rivers won last night at 11 ET, Burnett had the star of his next TV series competing to take the trophy as the winner of his current one.
Earlier today, I referred to Annie Duke's chances in the finale as feeling like a stacked deck. Now I know why. Even if the current Rivers win and future Rivers series are wholly coincidental, they also smell -- reek, in fact -- of implied conflict of interest. Did Rivers, with a victory, increase her value as host of a show on TV Land?
You be the judge.
In this instance, you may be the only judge impartial enough to make the call.