[1] Beginning in November 2009, PlayboyTV.com announced that it was searching for professional photographers and fashion models to compete on the Playboy Shootout reality series.

[2] Submissions were accepted via the online site and ultimately the applicants were whittled down into groups of 10 for each category, hand-picked by Hugh Hefner himself.

In early 2010, the final contestants were assembled and brought to a private Malibu mansion where they were broken into groups of 2 and instructed to endure a series of challenges.

Similar to the format of Project Runway, each team of 1 photographer and 1 model was required to face a panel of 3 judges after shooting a series of pictorials utilizing specific elements dictated by host Brande Roderick (fire, water, motorcycles, etc.).

A third judge seat was filled by a revolving slot of Playboy-related celebrity guests, including Adrianne Curry, Sara Jean Underwood, Andrea Lowell, Tiffany Fallon, Traci Bingham, Ida Ljungqvist, Carmella DeCesare, and The Girls Next Door.