Amy Paffrath, the star host of the wildly popular VH1 series "Dating Naked," is the first to admit that the show's premise is pretty awkward. The Lighthearted Entertainment-produced reality dating show whisks away dating hopefuls to an exotic location every season and pairs them up with potential matches. The couples share the cringe-worthy awkwardness that has become synonymous with first dates on camera - but they're completely naked the entire time.

Now that the series is in its second season, a newly revamped format is helping to bring vulnerability, honesty and confidence back to the forefront of the dating show genre, one blurred out private area at a time.

Growing up, Paffrath was a fan of the MTV dating show "Singled Out." She worked as a casting assistant on another MTV dating series, "Next," which was produced by Lighthearted Entertainment CEO Howard Schultz. She told HNGN that she always thought it would be fun to be a part of a dating show; she just never imagined a being part of one where contestants bare all - literally.

"Dating Naked" is the second iteration of a reality series that requires its cast members to be completely nude since the format was introduced in 2013 with Discovery channel's "Naked and Afraid." The Discovery show's contestants are faced with a survival challenge and left to fend for themselves in the wilderness with no clothes, food or water.

"I love the show, I think 'Naked and Afraid' is amazing. It's so well done and the whole point of the show isn't that they're naked, it's that they're vulnerable and they are surviving," she said. "So our show just takes that format and puts them in a dating environment. But the nudity is for the same reason, to strip away barriers and leave them in a very raw, vulnerable position so they have nothing to hide behind."

Paffrath worked on a number of production sets in her career. She was an entertainment journalist for E! News and had roles in the hit CBS series "2 Broke Girls" and the 2014 horror flick "The Purge: Anarchy." But she admitted that working on the set of "Dating Naked" is unlike anything she's done in the past.

"It's definitely different," she said, laughing. "It's probably, I'd say, the most awkward set I've ever been on because yes, people are hanging out naked and I don't think that ever will get normal to me because I'm not a nudist."

"It can be very awkward when everyone's just standing around and we're having a conversation about feelings, and I look over and I'm like 'Oh my god, there's a penis!'" she said, laughing. "It is bizarre, but it also it keeps you on your toes."

While on set, a typical day for Paffrath would start with a morning briefing where she gets a rundown of everything that's going on in the house. The story team informs her on how each relationship between the potential couples is progressing before she shoots her scenes.

The gig does come with a lot of downtime, Paffrath said, and she enjoys the work and play aspect of it. She's not required to be on set while the couples are on their dates, so she's free to roam and explore each exotic location.

"I get a lot of time to really enjoy the beautiful places that we shoot at so I'm very lucky to have that opportunity to film in these incredible locations and really get to soak in the culture of the people and the beauty of it," she gushed.

Her role in the show is to conduct the ceremonies where contestants choose their "keeper." Now that the show has undergone a format change in its second season, she's excited to be able to really follow along and get invested in the dating hopefuls, Kerri and Chris.

"There's a huge difference between season one and season two," she explained. "Season one, each episode was its own thing, it was standalone. There was really no order to the season because each episode has a nice little bow at the end and wrapped up the story. So now, we have Chris and Kerri and they're staying with us through the full 10 episodes so you really get involved in their lives. You really get to know who they are, we're really invested in finding them a soul mate."

One particular storyline that fans were invested in this season was contestant Chris' relationship with Fallon, a deceitful girl who had him under her devious spell. Last week, Chris finally got to see Fallon's true nature and sent her home.

"I mean, like my mom would call me and talk about people on the show," Paffrath said of how engaging that particular storyline was. "She'd say, 'Oh my god, I can't believe what Fallon did last week, Chris better let her go.'"

This season's main characters, Chris and Kerri, are able to choose whom they would like to have stay with them in the house in order to spend more time with their potential candidates. That way, they are able to form relationships with them and decide if that person is the one for them. If they decide to send someone home, they will be set up with a new match.

"It's really cool to see those people like come and shake things up and rock the boat," Paffrath said, "and it gives viewers a chance to really have an opinion. They're shouting at the TV like, 'Chris, what are you doing?!' because we see all the devious things she's doing but Chris doesn't. So it's so great, we get this really great mix of characters and personalities."

She also credits the first season with introducing what "Dating Naked" is about, that way the people who signed up for the show this season had better understand of what they were getting themselves into. She said that made it easier to cast the second season.

"The first season people were blindly going into this, allowing us to film them naked, so they had no idea what the end result would be," she explained. "Now they do, so we've got a great mix of people and from all over the U.S. and I just think this cast is amazing. We really get that drama, but there's a lot of love too. Kerri's gonna get a couple of great dates over the next few of weeks that she really starts to fall for, so it's such an exciting season just to see it all the way through with the story arc from the beginning to the end."

Contestants who signed up for the first season were embarking on a new platform in dating reality, but now people have a better understanding of what to expect when signing up for "Dating Naked." Paffrath said that future contestants can be assured that the production team will take very good care of them while on set.

"They're in very safe hands," she said. "Our story team is amazing, they take such great care of our people and make sure they're comfortable and they get a crazy fun experience of a lifetime. They get to fly to this awesome location, first season was Panama, second season was the Philippines, they get to live in this tropical environment they get to meet people that we are handpicking that hopefully they will connect with."

The very nature of the show, taking complete strangers to an exotic location where they are exposed for the world (and TV crew) to see, is a bonding experience too, Paffrath explained. Contestants are able to push themselves beyond their own boundaries and explore themselves while being on the show.

"I think that's the same in 'Naked and Afraid,' and it's the same with this, you see what you're made of. You kind of find out, 'how brave am I? How comfortable am I in my own skin?' and I think it's a great learning experience," she said.

The matchmaking process in the show carefully matches Kerri and Chris for dates that are tailored to play up that particular person's strengths, according to Paffrath. In a recent episode, Chris was matched up with Lauryn, an athletic competitive girl who gave Chris a run for his money during a basketball game. Kerri's match, Doug, was a stand-up comedian who felt right at home onstage during an impromptu routine. Mason, another match that Kerri unfortunately sent home, was given a guitar to showcase his talents as a musician.

"It really puts [them] in a light that really shines brightly, it gives them a spotlight," Paffrath explained. "You don't want to throw them into an environment where they're like 'hey, you're naked and we're gonna be doing something you've never done before in your life, go!' [laughs] Could you imagine, like, how unconfident you would feel? So we really want to set them up to feel their best and look their best."

Last week's episode featured a match that was slightly out of Chris' comfort zone. Bodybuilder Amanda shocked Chris with her bald head. But when the dance major explained that she shaved her head in support of her mother who was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, it changed Chris' opinion of her enough that he decided to keep her around.

"I thought that was so great to watch Chris fall for someone who was kind of out of what he thought was his type," Paffrath said. "It flips things on its head because you are in this environment where you're seeing, 'OK, what I've been doing in the past isn't working and that's why I'm here cause I can't seem to find the right person.' Well, if you keep dating that same person you're gonna keep getting the same results, so you gotta shake it up."

Showcasing a female bodybuilder's physique on the show was also important, Paffrath explained. Producers aim to portray all different types of body types on the series and to celebrate people of all shapes and sizes.

 "We want people to know that you can be comfortable in your skin, so it's really celebrating all the different body types out there and showing like 'look, you are who you are, this is what you come with' and we shouldn't be afraid of that," she said. "We shouldn't have to cover it up to feel good about ourselves, we should be able to say 'this is me, take it or leave it.' And it is important to show all different age groups, races, heights, weights. We want it to be a show where people can watch along and see a representation of them in the show."

The naked factor adds to the show's takeaway: that it's OK to be honest with the way you present yourself in the dating world. Paffrath explained that "Dating Naked" forces its contestants to open up and allow themselves to be who they really are.

"It's showing that we don't have to hide behind, at least for women, a tight dress with cutlets and fake lashes to be appealing to a guy," she said. "It shows that we can be who we are, we can bring our vulnerable self to the table and not try to put on a show and hide who we really are just to win or just to be chosen. It's not about that at all, it's about being authentic, and I don't think there's a lot of that out there unfortunately."

She discussed how reality dating shows have evolved and turned into a contest of who can beat out the other hopefuls to become the "winner," and the idea of really connecting with another human being on an emotional level falls to the wayside. By stripping away the clothes, "Dating Naked" forces contestants to connect on a deeper level, not just what's on the surface.

"Our show, you're forced to connect with someone when you're in a position where you're both standing there naked, how can you not?" Paffrath said. "They're getting to know each other on a deeper level really quickly and that is the point, to accelerate that. It's really going a lot deeper and about being vulnerable."

But Paffrath admitted that while the nudity helps couples connect on a deeper level, it also adds a comedic value to the show. Viewers can't get enough of the cringe-worthy first date scenarios.

"It's always awkward but it's hilarious at the same time," she said. "It's so fun to see the story progress and watch them every single day, Kerri getting naked and Chris getting naked like 'oh my god this is gonna go so wrong, this is hysterical, it's gonna be so funny.'"

One rewarding aspect about the show is being able to watch Kerri and Chris navigate these situations and dates with people who might not be their type at first, but because they're on the island, they're forced to see the date through. Like with Chris and Amanda, sometimes the outcome is worth working through the initial first impression.

Paffrath does have one piece of advice for hopefuls who sign up for the show, and that's to exercise self-control while being on set surrounded by naked bodies.

"We had a guy named Frankie early on and he was just a little inappropriate with his penis sometimes," she said, laughing. "So my piece of advice would be, like just because you're naked doesn't mean you have to like play with yourself. Please, please be mindful, so you know, don't be a weirdo."

Like viewers, Paffrath watches along and thought Chris and Kerri both sent people home that they should have kept around a little longer, like Stephanie and Mason. She just chalks it up to love lost and said audiences will just have to wait and see what happens with the next round of hopefuls.

It's been a while since Paffrath herself has been a part of the dating pool. Actor and musician Drew Seeley popped the question in 2012 and the couple was married in 2013 after years of dating. Paffrath still remembers their first date but couldn't imagine going through it naked.

"I cannot imagine going through that naked cause I remember I took forever to get dressed for that date," she said, laughing. "And I ended up wearing like a Hello Kitty shirt, I don't know what I was thinking, but yeah a Hello Kitty shirt and little kitten heels and a jean skirt [laughs]. Maybe I was better off naked!"