It’s summer, and that can only mean one thing: Paris Hilton is hot to trot after a new crop of hero-worshiping reality contestants, all anxious to be her BFF…for one season, at least. Paris Hilton’s My New BFF has been renewed by MTV for a third season. This means, at least, that Paris won’t have to tolerate the winner of the show for very long.

But at the show’s Season 2 premiere, the winning contestant remains a far-away decision. First, it’s time to meet this group of Paris Hilton-loving hopefuls.

At the top of the episode, Hilton participate in an (obviously staged) press conference where she ditched last year’s winner - Brittany Flickinger - as being a “hungry tiger” who was only seeking fame and fortune by virtue of her Hilton association.

Potential BFFs had to face an intense casting call, where they were presented like criminals in a police line-up. Paris chose a handful of contenders from each group, telling them she would be meeting them in Las Vegas. “What better place to see what these kitties are made of?” She asked.

Onch, from last year’s BFF, greeted the hopefuls upon their arrival. Paris Hilton actually put herself in one of the cars as Gina, a Brooklyn hottie who did a lot of listening in the vehicle. This was actually the best acting job Hilton has ever done, and I was almost impressed with her put-on New York accent. In all seriousness, however, it was more than obvious that “Gina” was Hilton, and I’ve got to wonder about all those reality hopefuls who seemed to have no idea whatsoever.

The BFFs were taken to a beautiful Vegas suite, where they enjoyed champagne and conversation. Delighted squeals greeted the room service cart which offered plenty of goodies - and two male strippers. Paris Hilton remained with them in her disguise. The group received an invitation to Body English to party the night away.

The potential friends are made up of a gaggle of girls and one guy. Nicole is a brunette bikini dancer, which the others took to mean “stripper” (and I have a tendency to agree); Stephen is a gay Mormon, so I’ve got the feeling his life has been none too easy; Texas-born Desirae is absolutely gorgeous; Arika, Japanese, calls herself a diva and thinks others find her to be “too perfect” when they meet her; Katie is into punk rock; Kaitlin looks like a sweetheart, but admitted to having a “devilish side” with a twinkle in her eye; Stefanie is all about “loving people” and says she hasn’t had enough love in her life; Rachel has masses of blonde hair and calls herself “goofy,” but doesn’t care if people think she’s weird; Arielle is from Jersey, and sounds like it; Amanda, a cheerleader, says she “can’t shut” her mouth; Tiniecia presented herself as being extremely honest; Elena says she “has no shame” and threatened to swing off chandeliers; Kristen used to weigh 200 pounds, but even then thought she was fabulous; Monica believes she’s “the crazy one, the nut job” and says she’s got a ton of energy. From the way she danced with the strippers, I agree.

Paris remained with the group as Gina, while a Hilton double took the throne as Paris for the benefit of the BFFs. Each contestant made a presentation to the girl they thought was the heiress. The “double” didn’t look a bit like Hilton. “Gina” made her presentation to Paris as the others rolled their eyes. A few, at least, had the good sense to be a bit suspicious of the Brooklyn beauty.

The BFFs then went off to enjoy their time at the club. Rachel fell down on the dance floor but didn’t seem to feel the pain. As Paris said to the camera, “Rachel is weird. That girl is trippin’…for real.” Onch arrived the next day and bid the girls to meet Paris Hilton in the throne room. It was finally time for Paris to reveal herself to the group.

A clip played which showed Hilton’s transformation into Gina, and the cat was out of the bag. It was time for the show to really progress at last. “There has to be elimination; it’s part of the game.” Paris then called Amanda and Arielle to step forward, saying these two look like twins and have done very little to impress her. “I mean, we weren’t even in pretty dresses yet,” said one contestant, shocked that two girls were already on the elimination block.

The group was taken to Wayne Newton’s house, “an old family friend” of the Hiltons. Here, the Vegas superstar has a menagerie on the grounds of his sprawling estate. This was the “hungry tiger” challenge. Each contender had to step forward to touch and pet the tiger, who lolled around lazily for his handler.

“I don’t think he liked one of you very much,” Paris observed. This was Rachel, who already fell and offered up a very strange show and tell for Hilton’s double. “TTYN,” Paris told the girl, bidding Rachel good-bye and eliminating her from the show immediately.

It was time for another challenge. This became a stripper pole contest, which Paris said in a recent interview was one of her favorite events of the season. “Judging by the looks of some of you, I think you’ve already had practice,” Paris told them.

Before a crowd of onlookers, contenders took to the pole two at a time to impress the audience. Stephen was incredibly uncomfortable with the challenge. “I’m scared,” he cried pathetically to Paris. Hilton, unmoved by his drama, told him he would have to be up for discussion.

At the first elimination ceremony, Paris called Amanda, Arielle and Stephen to step forward and face her. “What’s up with you not doing the pole dance?” She demanded of the lone male in the bunch. Amanda’s gymnastic abilities, both on the pole and elsewhere, impressed the heiress - this BFF will remain in the running for a while longer. “I’ve heard it all, almost a million times before,” Hilton warned them after they made their final pleas to remain on the show. Arielle was then given her walking papers, and her gut instinct that she’d be kicked proved to be true.

At the end of the episode, Paris took her potential buddies to the BFF mansion in Los Angeles. And so, the stage is set for more Hilton-loving drama. For this season, Hilton’s hoping to find a friend who doesn’t want to be in the entertainment industry. Since she’s conducting this search via reality TV, however, those wishes are already obviously null and void. But hey, what difference does it make? Paris will return next summer with more girls, more challenges and (probably) more bad words for whoever is “lucky” enough to win this year’s event.