E!'s "The Girls Next Door" reality series has exceeded expectations and is coming back for a second season.

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"The Girls Next Door" follows the lives of Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt, who all live with and love Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Their unusual relationship is the heart of the reality series filmed at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, Calif., the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Despite being called "misogynistic" when the show aired last year, the ratings indicate that women make up a large portion of the audience.

"It's surprising, considering what many of the skeptics said when it first aired," says Brent Zacky, E!'s executive producer for the series. "I think a major reason for its success is that the viewers love the girls."

The second season of "The Girls Next Door" is set to kick off on Sunday night.