Playboy bouncing back with relaunch of Playmate competition

Playboy is playing it again.

The famed men’s magazine — which returned to print with a single annual issue in February — is continuing a comeback with a revamped Playmate competition and a TV show in the works, Page Six has learned.

The “The Great Playmate Search” will differ from the first “Playmate Hunt” in 1978 — when fans voted for their favorite “Girl Next Door” by mail — with the new version taking place online.

After the initial round of public voting, a group of former Playboy models including Shanna Moakler, Summer Altice, Brandee Roderick, Daphnee Duplaix, and 2025 Playmate of the Year Gillian Nation will act as judges for the final round, we hear.

The legendary brand is also pitching a behind-the-scenes TV series chronicling the casting process, we hear.

One source described the project as being similar to Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” show, which follows a group of women as they audition to make the NFL squad.

Founded in 1953, Playboy enjoyed massive popularity for spicy pics mixed with articles by famed authors like Ray Bradbury, James Baldwin and Margaret Atwood.

Playboy Clubs popped up in cities from the ’60 through the ’80s with waitresses dressed as bunnies.

The brand had previous success on TV with its reality hit, “Girls Next Door,” offering viewers a behind the scenes look inside the infamous Playboy mansion featuring founder Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends. 

The brand also suffered setbacks over the years, at first due to competitors like Maxim and then free Internet porn, but also had challenges due to changing social norms.

The mag stopped printing in March 2020, citing budget woes, and laid off 25 staffers two months later.

It returned with an annual edition in February 2025.

Founder Hugh Hefner died in 2017, and PLBY Group, Inc then went public in 2021.

The board rejected a $100 million plus bid from Hefner’s son, Cooper, to buy the company in 2024.