Kevin Burns approached Hefner in early 2005, which resulted in a pilot called "Hef's World" being filmed.

When presented to E!, they told him to go back and interview each of the girlfriends to "see what you can get", which resulted in the premise shifting from Hefner to life in the mansion from a woman's perspective.

Marquardt also temporarily left at the same time to film Bridget's Sexiest Beaches for The Travel Channel, but in January 2009[2] ended her relationship with Hefner and moved out of the mansion permanently.

[3] Madison indicated to Life & Style magazine, the manner in which their contractual obligations would be fulfilled was still unknown at the time, but that they were still filming material together.

[4][5] However, the focus of the show shifted to Hefner's new girlfriends, 23-year-old Crystal Harris,[6] and 19-year-old twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon.

[8] The initial success of the show was so great that Playboy published a nude pictorial of Madison, Marquardt and Wilkinson on the November 2005 issue.

On November 29, 2011, MPI Home Video released The Girls Next Door: Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1.

[16] The series was a hit for E!, averaging 2.6 million[17] viewers in its first season and setting many records – including being the highest-rated premiere since 2002.

president Bonnie Hammer vowed to "get rid of the more Playboy trashy element" from the network[29] – a goal that was ultimately achieved as Kendra was also canceled in 2012.