An article on the Design Week website discusses a new BBC reality TV show in which young designers compete to win a six month gig with designer, Philippe Starck. Entitled “Philippe Starck’s School of Design,” the show echoes the BBC’s “The Apprentice,” which echoes the original Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” on NBC. (Talk about derivative!) But instead of overseeing the construction of casinos or golf courses for The Donald empire, the winner of this contest gets a six-month contract at Starck’s Paris studio.

Over 10 weeks, five female and seven male contestants live together in a house in the Paris suburbs. They range in age from 19 to 32 and most have product design backgrounds. In the first episode’s challenge, contestants search a hypermarket for products displaying good and bad design qualities. One designer contestent, Ilsa Parry, is a lecturer in 3D design at Liverpool Community College who has a design idea for a space-saving vertical coffin. Unknown as of yet is whether or not Starck has a catch-phrase similar to Trump’s, “you’re fired!”

In an era of rising unemployment, it’s interesting to see TV viewers continue to watch other people struggle to win jobs in a state of pre-packaged, well-lit reality. The good news is that big “D” designers and their craft are finally going prime-time, along with MBAs, fashion designers, cooks and folks who have dirty jobs.