[The second season of Bravo’sdebuted last night, along with a risqué shot of star–and I use that term loosely– Ryan Serhant in the shower. That shot is below. The rest of this post is from my original feature from last March. Jump to see it.]

Consider the irony that I’m profiling one of the stars of Bravo’s new real estate show, Million Dollar Listing – New York, and it’s NOT the former gay porn star Fredrik Eklund (one of the three). That’ll give you some idea about the piece of work known as Ryan Serhant, former hand model extraordinaire, who seems to be stealing the limelight and the moral low ground as the new series begins.

I don’t know if Serhant is a dickhead in “real life” (whatever that might now be for any reality star), but he sure plays one on TV. Meant to come off as brash, ballsy and an all-round asshole, Serhant, who says he’s straight, manages to do so with great ease. Though the series is only a few weeks old, he’s already had two confrontations with Eklund, one of which involved his lame attempt to embarrass him to a client by pointing out that Eklund, himself no prize as a human, was a pornstar for JetSetMen.com as Tag Ericsson. The revelation straddled close to the line of homophobia, a line which I am sure will eventually get crossed. To his credit, Englund doesn’t flinch.

Serhant on the other hand, is a former hand model (yes, they do exist) who did a short stint on As the World Turns, on which he lasted but a few months. He’s also done some theatre, at least one production of which required him play a gay character (or woo one).

Dude’s been around, then. And of course, he is certainly stunning looking, with a dashing bit of gray in his hair and a small but muscular bod, which we get a nearly thorough inventory of in the very first episode (including a shower shot). But as with any jerk, the “romance” of his sexy look wears off once you hear his arrogant tone.

So, while he is now officially HOTT, he’s not that hot.

One last thought: As you review the first pic below, is it me or does it look like a test shot from a Falcon VideoPack DVD cover from the late ’90’s?