AceShowbiz -

Katherine Heigl may be trying to rebuild her reputation with her return to the small screen. Following announcement that her new TV project was nabbed by NBC, some Hollywood executives reveal that the "Grey's Anatomy" alumna is difficult as opposed to her pleasant on-screen persona.

An insider who worked with her in 2010's film "Life as We Know It" tells The Hollywood Reporter, "She can cost you time every single day of shooting. Wardrobe issues, not getting out of the trailer, questioning the script every single day. Even getting her deal closed at Warners was hard. She hit that point of 'no.' "

Adding to this "desperately difficult situations" is her mother who is also her manager, Nancy Heigl. The source shares, "I have never experienced anything like Nancy Heigl. It's about the mouth. 'F**k you. You are a f***ing liar.' ... Whatever you'd say, you were an idiot. The call would be, 'This is the worst craft service we've ever had! There's nothing to eat! This is the worst wardrobe!' You knew that every day, you were going to get slammed. The frustrating part is [Heigl] is incredibly talented and smart."

Executive producer Denise Di Novi, however, begs to differ. Calling the account by the source "way exaggerated," she says Heigl and her mother "are not shrinking violets. They're very straightforward and tell you what they think. That doesn't bother me." She goes on praising the star as being "hardworking and dedicated."

Regardless which story is true, a studio executive who once worked with Heigl thinks she makes the right move by going back to television after her last few movies flopped on box office. "I think she's doing the perfect thing," the exec says.

"She's really determined to put everything behind her," the source adds. "The only way to do that is to go to work in film or television with good people and for those people to have good things to report back. And it's not an overnight thing... There's a really loyal, huge fan base that's waiting to see her."

Some may recount how Heigl once blasted her own film, 2008's "Knocked Up", by deeming it "sexist." In the same year, she also refused to submit her name for Emmy for her performance on ABC's medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" because the writing wasn't good enough. She later exited the show in 2010.

Now she's plotting her TV comeback with a CIA drama, which will see her as "a maverick CIA officer who was plucked from the field to become the president's daily briefer, assuming responsibility for targeting America's most critical threats while navigating the unique lifestyle that comes with such a high-powered job."