Burnett, HBO Max prep business contest

Warner Media’s forthcoming streaming service HBO Max has greenlit a business competition series from The Apprentice creator Mark Burnett featuring US reality star and entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel.

Mark Burnett

The Big Shot with Bethenny (working title) comes from producer Burnett at MGM Television and will feature a group of budding business moguls who compete for a chance to become Frankel’s second-in-command.

Frankel rose to fame after becoming runner-up in NBC’s spin-off series The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005, before being cast in Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City, which she has appeared in for eight seasons.

Outside of her work in TV, Frankel is the founder of the Skinnygirl lifestyle brand, the author of four self-help books and has founded her own production company called B Real Productions.

HBO Max has ordered eight 30-minute episodes of The Big Shot with Bethenny, which is also produced by B Real Productions and Big Fish Entertainment. Burnett exec produces with Frankel, Barry Poznick and Dan Cesareo.

“I first met Bethenny when I put her on the first season of The Real Housewives of New York City and she’s always both impressed and entertained me,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive VP of original non-fiction and kids programming at HBO Max.

“It’s incredible to see her empire continue to grow and I know that candidates will be clamouring to work for her.”