''The Assistant'' is a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

series that

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

other reality shows such as ''

The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...

'', '' The Bachelor'', ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

'', ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'', ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', and ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

''. Its eight episodes originally aired on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. It features comedian

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson, December 21, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational theater. Dick has had a long career as a stand ...

's search for a new personal assistant. The beginning of the first episode parodied ''The Bachelor'', with the twelve contestants arriving in limousines, and Dick waiting outside to greet them with his maid and butler. A "rose ceremony" immediately followed, and one contestant was eliminated. Dick assigns the Hollywood hopefuls to absurd tasks such as pretending to be him in an interview with a Japanese television station, bringing him coffee by traversing on a beam over a swimming pool, breaking up with his girlfriend, and attempting to get him a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

. Contestants are usually "clipped" in elimination ceremonies parodying those on other reality series. Like some other programs, ''The Assistant'' also includes double elimination episodes and brings back fired candidates. Driving home Dick's message that they were starting from the bottom, candidates sleep in Dick's garage. He also wakes them with a flashing, siren-generating alarm, is prone to tantrums, and gripes that, "This reality show is ruining my life!" Andy Dick actually had a relationship with one of the contestants on the show. Andy and Sarah Beckworth dated after the show's end. The end of the relationship led to a breach of contract lawsuit with MTV which prohibited relationships with the contestants. Though the show was satire, the twelve contestants were real and the winner,

Melissa Ordway Melissa Pam Gaston ( Ordway; born March 31, 1983) is an American actress and model. She is best known for portraying Abby Newman on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. In May 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporti ...

, was awarded several prizes including a job at MTV. The runner-up was Mark, who had been fired, but was brought back in the seventh episode. The show was not renewed.

Contestants eliminated and reality show parodied

''(in reverse order of elimination)'' *

(winner) * Mark Rogers ** ''

'' theme, eliminated episode 4 (brought back 7) ** Eliminated episode 8 * Tanika Kennedy ** ''

'' theme, eliminated episode 7 * Mykell Wilson ** ''

'' theme, eliminated episode 6 * Colin Blake ** ''American Idol'' theme, eliminated episode 6 * Anna Enger ** Unaware, surprise lie detector test, eliminated episode 5 * Stefani Fischer ** ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

'' theme, eliminated episode 5 * Ebony Costain ** ''

'' theme, eliminated episode 3 * Nikeda Stanback ** ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...

'' theme, eliminated episode 1 (brought back episode 3) ** ''Survivor'' theme, eliminated episode 3 * Sarah Beckworth ** ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' theme, eliminated episode 2 * Jeff Jimenez ** ''America's Next Top Model'' theme, eliminated episode 2 * Andrew Sturgis (Andrew Rodgman) ** '' The Bachelor'' theme, eliminated episode 1

References

External links

*
''The Assistant''
on mtv.com

at Andy Dick's website

on USA Today {{DEFAULTSORT:Assistant 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings 2000s American parody television series 2000s American reality television series MTV reality television series Reality television series parodies