Could George Lopez really replace Donald Trump on ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’?

Well, officially file this under “news we did not see coming” for the day. It has been no secret that Donald Trump will no longer be the host of “The Celebrity Apprentice.” NBC is not going to let him anywhere near their network at the moment given everything that has transpired there.

According to the New York Post, comedian George Lopez is in talks to replace Trump in the boardroom whenever the network decides to do another season of the Mark Burnett production. Yes, there is some obvious irony here in NBC potentially hiring a big-name Latino personality after Trump offended many Mexican immigrants recently, but we understand why they would want Lopez. This show is kind of a joke, and George is one of the most well-known comedians currently out there. Would he be a ratings draw? We’re not sure, given that his recent TBS talk show and FX series were not home runs in that department.

The Post also claims that Mark Cuban has been at least considered for the role, but there’s no telling if the “Shark Tank” investor is interested. He is already a big part of that show on ABC, and while there is connective tissue here in that both are produced by Burnett, Cuban may already have enough on his plate in between making deals and flying to DeAndre Jordan’s house.

There’s no real hurry for NBC to hire anyone for the spot, anyway, given that the new “Celebrity Apprentice” is probably not going to air until at least 2016. The fall schedule is already set?

One thing that this show may need to do desperately is distance itself from Trump, and quickly. If the ratings for Miss USA are any indication (granted, it moved to a different network), it is that people are actually standing by their protests.

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