"Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast members have supposedly been assured that shooting for Season 7 will begin with or without Teresa Giudice in the fall. 

Currently, Giudice remains behind bars at the Danbury Correctional Facility, where she is serving out the remainder of her 15-month federal sentence on tax related charges. According to the New York Daily News, the earliest she may be released is by the end of the year, some several weeks after the show is expected to have resumed filming.

"They plan to start filming in November, which means they will be putting together story lines after the summer," a source said. "Not everyone is coming back, and it is still a big question mark as to what they will do with the problem known as Teresa."

The 43-year-old Giudice previously inked a deal to return to the show next season. Also expected for return engagements are Kathy Wakile and Jacqueline Laurita, who in the past has feuded with Giudice to the point the jailed mother of four has frequently spoken out against her remaining a part of the cast.

If and when Giudice returns, many of her scenes are expected to be shot in the same quarters, given that she is almost certainly be placed under house arrest at least initially.

"They want to make sure the cast is full of people connected to Teresa," the source said. "Her relatives and her once-best-friend, Jacqueline, will help them tell the story of Teresa's time away, and return home without looking like Bravo is making light of her crime. It will be more focused on family."

Giudice has been imprisoned since early January and is rumored to have "adjusted" well, regularly exercising in the prison gym and working in the kitchen. She is able to exchange short emails with her four daughters that are monitored by guards and calls home for about 10 minutes each day.

Giudice's husband, Joe, is expected to start serving his near four-year sentence on similar charges once his wife has been released.