Michael J. Fox and producers dish about his new sitcom, 'The Michael J. Fox Show'

Michael J. Fox has been discussing his new sitcom, The Michael J. Fox Show, that comes out in September. The show will center on a fictional character who works as a NBC anchor in New York who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s, just like Fox in real life. The anchor, named Mike Henry, will face the battle with Parkinson’s, but it will not be the focus of the show.

According to USA Today, executive producer Sam Laybourne stated that, “[The Parkinson’s battle is] always going to be there, but it's not going to be the spotlight.” Fox is excited about the show and not in the least worried about exposing his disability on the air. He said, “"There's nothing horrifying about it to me. I don't think it's gothic nastiness. There's nothing horrible on the surface about someone with a shaky hand.” Fox has been a long time advocate of raising public awareness for Parkinson’s, as well as funds for research. He created his own foundation for research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, in 2000. The sitcom is another great opportunity to share his inspiring story with the public and to bring awareness about the disease, even if it is not the main focus. It seems to be the story of maintaining a happy and relatively normal life, despite the debilitating disease.

This sitcom marks Fox’s first full-time return to television, despite occasional guest appearances on Rescue Me and The Good Wife . The Washington Post gives us insight about why Fox has returned to TV. Fox said the guest roles “really brought [him] to a place of, ‘This is what I do. This is what I was built and programmed to do, and so I wanted to do it. It’s what I’ve loved to do’...[so he] thought, ‘Why can’t I? There’s no reason not to do it.’” His mindset is always optimistic, as the title of his 2nd novel will tell us, and there is no doubt that his fans are itching to have him back on the screen. Since his hit series Family Ties, Fox has held a steady fan base, so many are sure to tune into NBC to see what he has to offer this time.

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