THE new season of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” premiered to respectable numbers.

Sunday’s opening episode, which saw Andrew Dice Clay get the heave-ho, averaged 8.9 million viewers from 9 to 11 p.m. – third in its timeslot behind the Tom Selleck movie “Jesse Stone: Thin Ice” (15 million) and “Brothers & Sisters” (12 million) on ABC.

MORE: Read The Post’s Review of ‘Celebrity Apprentice’