My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss

Did You Know?

• Annette became a professional model and later appeared as Trump's Executive Assistant on several episodes of The Celebrity Apprentice.
• Jamie Denbo was featured on The Late Late Show, and Kent Sublette joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 2007.
• Robert appeared on the 2014 reality show Utopia.

Format

The show borrowed its structure from The Apprentice, but with a twist. Teams faced business challenges, though the tasks were deliberately ridiculous—peddling hot soup on a scorching day, making and selling art from trash, or promoting other silly products. The losing squad met Mr. Todd in the boardroom the next day, where he mocked their efforts. Unlike The Apprentice, the losing team boss was safe from elimination; Mr. Todd explained that in the real world, the boss is never blamed.

Viewers watched N. Paul Todd consult "the real boss" to decide which of the bottom two would go. The survivor became the new team boss, while the winning team chose their own leader. The real boss remained hidden from contestants until the finale, with the official website floating names like Ivana Trump or Oprah Winfrey, though David Hickman once called the boss a "him." No reason was given for the choices, so Todd invented whatever he liked.

In the last episode, the real boss turned out to be a chimpanzee named Mowgli, who made decisions by spinning a wheel with the contestants' names.

Production

N. Paul Todd was played by actor William August, a Harvard graduate and California attorney. August described Todd as a man who "probably has a number of sexual harassment lawsuits pending." Assistants included Vice President Jamie Samuels, who was sent to hate the women, and COO David Hickman, who was "a little too excited about these fresh-faced young men." Mr. Todd also relied on his wife Lynn and son Kent to judge when an executive was unavailable. Fox originally announced the legal reality series The Partner for November 7, 2004, but opted to broadcast My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss instead. Gail Berman explained that after My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance, this seemed like the next logical take on reality television.

Teams

The competition began with two teams divided by gender. The men called their female rivals Femron, blending "female" with "Enron," while the women dubbed the male team Concad, a mix of "con" and "cad." In episode four, the teams were rearranged based on looks. By episode eight, the five remaining players formed one group for an elimination round, with Damien chosen as boss. After that, the four survivors split into two teams for a challenge, and then the last three competed alone. Contestants could win or lose as team boss, gain immunity even after losing, be on a winning or losing task, be brought to the final boardroom, be fired, or win immunity through a task.