It’s that time again. Season 9 of “Project Runway” debuts tonight on Lifetime, starting with the casting special, “Project Runway: Road to the Runway” at 5 p.m., followed by the inaugural episode, “Come as You Are,” at 6 p.m.

The size of the 20-person designer lineup, one of the largest in “PR” history, indicates more than one designer will be packing up tonight.

Betting types can go to www.mylifetime.com to study up on the contestants’ bios, portfolios, muses, favorite designers and style icons, and to handicap the designers.

Based on portfolio, among the standouts for womenswear are Gunnar Deatherage and Anya Ayoung-Chee, who, as of Tuesday, tied for Facebook “likes” with 2,000 apiece.

Julie Tierney and Serena da Conceicao might also bring a little interest to the show, the former for her nomadic layering, the latter with lingerie details and lines.

For the first time, the show is also bringing in a talented array of menswear designers — Olivier Green, Viktor Luna and Joshua Christensen — which suggests tailoring, rather than draping, might play a big part in the season’s competitions. That would be bad news for half the cast.

But having a great portfolio is one thing. Whether they can produce under pressure in a matter of hours is another. At this point I’m as likely to like a person because of who they’ve picked as their favorite model. For Amanda Perna, it’s Heidi Klum. Really?

Talk about pandering to the host. I’d send her packing right now.