Bravo surprised viewers with its decision to revamp the "Real Housewives of New York City" cast this season, replacing Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Kelly Bensimon and Cindy Barshop with three new cast members. And just last month, Zarin said, "If ratings go down, they might consider bringing back some of the original cast."
But Bravo has no such plans. "Bravo is not bringing Jill back to 'RHONY.' We are excited about the new ladies and for the fans to get to know them as the drama builds," said a network spokeswoman, referring to recent additions Heather Thomson, Carole Radziwill and Aviva Drescher.
A friend of Zarin said that network executives may be annoyed at the former "Housewife" because of compensation negotiations for her appearance on a "Real Housewives Top 20 Reunion Moments" special that recently aired.
"They are just angry that she sent them a legal letter Friday asking to be paid for a greatest hits show they aired last week," the source said. "She argues that they broke four contracts. Season 1, the cast was paid for nine episodes, Season 2 for 12 episodes and Seasons 3 and 4 for 18 episodes. None of the ladies got paid for this extra greatest hits reunion episode."
As for Zarin, she has changed her tune regarding her desire to return to the show. "I'm flattered that after a year Bravo is still talking about me. I wouldn't return for $1 million."
