the Apprentice franchise itself, and weak casting, although some felt the cast was superior to Apprentice 4, which ran concurrently. Trump blamed the Martha series for the declining ratings of his own version, even though the ratings for his show began to fall over a year before Martha's version premiered. Stewart responded in turn that she was supposed to have "fired" Trump in the premiere episode, making her a successor to Trump rather than the host of a spinoff. In mid-November 2005, NBC announced that it would not bring back the show for a second season, although the network and Stewart claimed that the show was initially planned as a one-season endeavor. Within a few years of the end of the series, three of the top runners-up (Bethenny, Marcela, and Leslie) were participating in other television ventures, with second-place finisher Bethenny Frankel parlaying her fame from the inaugural cast The Real Housewives of New York City into further reality shows, television hosting, books, and a successful business, Skinnygirl Cocktails. Fourth-place finisher Ryan Danz appeared on the 21st season of The Amazing Race alongside his girlfriend Abbie Ginsberg. They finished in 5th place. A third contestant, Shawn Killinger, would go on to be a popular on air host at QVC. Candidates Weekly results The candidate was hired and won the competition The candidate won as project manager on his/her team The candidate lost as project manager on his/her team The candidate was on the winning team for this task / they passed the Interviews stage. The candidate was on the losing team for this task. The candidate was brought to the final boardroom The candidate was sent home or fired The candidate lost as project manager and was sent home or fired Episodes Week 1: Once Upon a Time and Dream Airdate: September 21, 2005 Hosting Company: Random House Pre-task: After being shown to the converted loft that would serve as the candidates' accommodation, the group was instructed to divide itself into two teams of eight. Since the gender split was 10–6 in favor of the women, the teams could not be divided along gender lines as was usually done on the original show, and the candidates eventually organized themselves into a "business" team (Primarius) and a "creative" team (Matchstick). Project: Teams had to design and write a children's book and read it to a group of first graders. Primarius project