‘The Celebrity Apprentice’ to not film new season until spring 2014

We suppose that the following is both good and bad news for fans of our favorite reality train-wreck in “The Celebrity Apprentice“: Even though the show is going to be coming back, both Reality Blurred and show fan Justin Urciuoli have confirmed that filming for the new season will not begin until the spring of next year, a stark difference from when the show has kicked off filming in the past at around the start of October.

So why the long delay? It may have something to do with Donald Trump’s schedule, but we wonder instead if this could be a push for NBC to get the show where it really could do well: In the summer. With the competition that was there earlier this year from “Game of Thrones,” “Mad Men,” “The Good Wife,” “Family Guy,” and a billion other things, Sunday nights in the spring were becoming a mad dogpile of shows that no rational human could keep up with. Even if all the shows don’t share the same exact audiences, there is enough of an overlap for it to leave some sort of a mark in the ratings.

The best-case scenario for us would be for the show to be renewed for a new season, and for it to then form some sort of block on Wednesday nights with the “America’s Got Talent” results shows. Putting it on Sundays would still force you to battle the likes of all sorts of cable competition, which is actually pummeling broadcast ratings for many shows this year. (Look at a great show like “Whodunnit,” which no one seems to know about.) Meanwhile, you want to stay clear of Mondays thanks to “The Bachelorette,” and it always helps to have a great lead-in to lend a helping hand. Thursdays could also be a strong option, even if NBC’s Thursday lineup right now is pretty much nothing.

Now, let’s just hope for a great crop of contestants, and a winner that is somehow less predictable than Trace Adkins’ happy stroll into the finale.

Photo: NBC