Season 1 of The Apprentice premiered on January 8, 2004.

The season started with 16 contestants, eight men and eight women from around the United States. Each had been successful in various enterprises, including real estate, restaurant management, political consulting, and sales. During the show, the contestants lived communally in a suite at Trump Tower in Manhattan, located on the fourth floor. Elimination took the form of one contestant being "fired" by Trump at the conclusion of each week's episode.

Season 2 of The Apprentice premiered on September 9, 2004.

This season featured 18 candidates, whereas the first season only had 16.

Three new twists were introduced to The Apprentice this season. First, each team was unexpectedly forced at the season's outset to make a 1-for-1 player swap, resulting in a male on the female team (Bradford), and a female on the male team (Pamela). The traded members then became the project managers for the first task. Second, it was revealed that a project manager for the winning team would be immune from being fired the following week.

Season 3 of The Apprentice premiered on January 20, 2005.

In this season, two groups of nine were divided into book smarts (who took the name Magna Corp) and street smarts (called Net Worth) referring to those with and without a completed college education. This replaced the Battle of the Sexes concept used on The Apprentice 1 and The Apprentice 2.

Season 4 of The Apprentice premiered on September 22, 2005.

Unhappy with both the choice of candidates and the "street smarts" vs. "book smarts" premise from the preceding season, Trump went to the auditions and hand-picked 17 of the 18 candidates in season 4. In addition to candidate handpicking, Trump decided to go back to the premise of men versus women (there was eventually corporate restructuring). The all-women team named their corporation Capital Edge while the all-men team named their corporation Excel.

The winning project manager, throughout the season, may be exempt from firing for the following week only if the majority of the other members in their team believed he/she did a satisfactory job. In the previous two seasons, the winning project manager would automatically be exempt from firing.

Season 5 of The Apprentice premiered on February 27, 2006.

As with the previous season of the show, Trump hand-picked the candidates. Furthermore, Trump personally selected Tarek and Allie to be the very first project managers and to draft their own teams before the first task is issued. This is the first time in the history of The Apprentice that the teams were not formed by a certain set of characteristics, such as gender (Seasons 1, 2, 4) or educational status (Season 3).

Season 6 of The Apprentice premiered on January 7, 2007.

In addition to the change of locale, the following changes (including some "Apprentice firsts") have been made in the show's structure for the sixth season:

- Candidates must earn the right to live in the provided Beverly Hills mansion by simply winning the weekly task. Otherwise, the candidates will live in "Tent City", a location across the hedge from the mansion's swimming pool.

- This season at the request of Trump is a battle between the "haves" (in the Mansion) and the "have nots" (in Tent City).

- The project manager from the winning team will continue to be the project manager for that team until the team loses.

- The project manager from the winning team will be allowed to attend and participate in the boardroom firings for the losing team.

Season 7 of The Apprentice premiered on January 3, 2008.

This is the first season where the candidates did not reside in a communal penthouse of Trump Tower which was more as a meeting vicinity and also the boardroom. The celebrities lived in Trump International Hotel and Tower. There are also no traditionally given rewards to the winning team apart from the winning project manager receiving an amount of $20,000 along with available proceeds from the tasks to be donated to his or her favorite charity. Nevertheless, the firing rule remained.

Season 8 of The Apprentice premiered on March 1, 2009.

The candidates are divided into two teams, male versus female (as in seasons 1, 2, and 4). The women named their team Athena, after the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare and heroic endeavor. The men named their team KOTU, an acronym for Kings Of The Universe.

Season 9 of The Apprentice premiered on March 14, 2010.

The candidates were divided into two teams, male versus female (as in seasons 1, 2, 4 & 5). The womens team was named Tenacity. The mens team was named Rocksolid.

Season 10 of The Apprentice premiered on September 16, 2010.

The format of the show is much the same as was employed between the first and fifth seasons, with the changes introduced in The Apprentice: Los Angeles being discarded. The biggest change is to the rewards—unlike the often lavish rewards that had been granted in prior seasons to the winning teams, in this season, the winning Project Managers are rewarded with one-on-one meetings with some of America's best-known business leaders and CEOs.

Season 11 of The Apprentice premiered on March 6, 2011.

The candidates were divided into two teams, males versus females. The women named their team A.S.A.P., an acronym for Artists, Singers, Authors, and Professionals for a Purpose. The men named their team Backbone.

Season 12 of The Apprentice premiered on February 19, 2012.

The candidates were divided into two teams, males versus females. The women named their team Forte. The men named their team Unanimous.

Season 13 of The Apprentice premiered on March 3, 2013.

Unlike prior seasons of Celebrity Apprentice which were laid out as men vs. women, Mr. Trump made Trace Adkins and Bret Michaels team captains due to their previous success on the show and allowed them to pick their teams.

Season 14 of The Apprentice premiered on January 4, 2015.

The candidates were divided into two teams, males versus females. The women named their team Infinity. The men named their team Vortex.

Season 15 of The Apprentice premiered on January 2, 2017.

Along with the change of host and location, the catch phrase that accompanied a candidate's termination was changed from "You're fired" to "You're terminated"

The women named their team Prima. The men named their team Arete.