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.
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.
[1] Like some other programs, The Assistant also includes double elimination episodes and brings back fired candidates.
He also wakes them with a flashing, siren-generating alarm, is prone to tantrums, and gripes that, "This reality show is ruining my life!
Though the show was satire, the twelve contestants were real and the winner, Melissa Ordway, was awarded several prizes including a job at MTV.