Apprentice Fans Vote for Olympian Candidate

NBC is giving fans of The Apprentice a chance to play a role in the show's casting by selecting one of 12 Olympic athletes to become a future candidate on the program.

Fans can vote for their favorite candidate on NBCOlympics.com through Feb. 26—the close of The Games. Candidates include speed skaters Allison Baver, Casey FitzRandolph, Chad Hedrick and Chris Witty, freestyle skiers Travis Cabral, Joe Pack and Speedy Peterson, bobsledder Todd Hays, snowboarders Danny Kass and Seth Wescott, women's ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero and skeleton racer Katie Uhlaender.

The effort, designed to inject new buzz around the show, marks the first time in Apprentice history in which fans choose a candidate for the reality show. In another first, the show's production will move out of New York City to Los Angeles for filming. Filming is scheduled to begin this summer.

"The challenge is always to find some reason that viewers can connect to a TV show," said Craig Plestis, senior VP-alternative programs and development for NBC. "This is just one additional way [viewers] can actually take part...[other] than just watching TV."

The fifth season of The Apprentice premieres on its new day, Monday, Feb. 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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