Celebrity News

‘NYC Wives’ face Bravo ax

Bravo executives are poised to cancel “The Real Housewives of New York City” today after a tense standoff with the series’ cast that has delayed production from starting on time.

The Comcast-owned network has notified the cast — including Ramona Singer, Carole Radziwill, Heather Thomson, Aviva Drescher, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn de Lesseps — that it will cancel the series unless they sign their contracts by today after a dispute.

“It’s either a wrap, or it’s a tactic to get them to sign their contracts,” a source told us of the move.

The drama began when Bravo was to start shooting the sixth season of the popular franchise this week. But production was delayed when the ladies refused to film because of ongoing contract negotiations.

Sources tell Page Six several of the cast asked for “reasonable” pay increases to cover their costs during filming, including for hair and makeup, much of which the source said the women pay themselves.

“There’s a lot of expenses that go into being on the show,” the source said. “And they’re not frivolous. The cast asked for a modest increase — enough so they can cover the costs and make a little money.” Another source close to the cast said they’d been negotiating individually, but then “banded together” for leverage — and that’s when Bravo had enough.”

We hear cast members earn an average of about $65,000 per season, though some veterans of the show earn way more. Singer, who’s been with the show since its first season, reportedly makes $500,000 and, sources tell us, wanted $1 million from Bravo to appear on a sixth. Bravo refused, and she agreed to come back anyway.

We’ve also learned that Bravo was looking to add two new members to the cast to “freshen up storylines” and “boost ratings,” which sagged during Season 5. But this week production company Shed Media called several of the women to say if they didn’t sign their contracts, Bravo would cancel the show altogether.

A Bravo rep declined to comment.