NBC held its panel at the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday, with plenty of new shows to promote, but the one that grabbed attention was The Michael J. Fox Show, whose titular star was on hand to talk with the media. Michael J. Fox spoke about the role Parkinson’s disease plays in his new show and how it is used for laughs.

The show centers on a New York sportscaster, played by Fox, who retired after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. His family has convinced him to get back into the spotlight and it loosely follows Fox’s life, notes The LA Times.

“Names have been changed to protect the innocent,” Fox joked. He was “cool with” the idea of his life becoming a television show and noted that he never asked the Parkinson’s community for permission to make fun of a disease he’s dealt with for years.

“I don’t vet creative instinct,” he said. “There’s nothing horrifying about it to me, it is my reality, it is my life. There’s nothing on the surface horrible about someone with shaky hands. And there’s nothing horrible about someone saying I’m sick of these shaky hands.”

Fox said that jokes about the disease fade away as the show progresses, but it plays a big part in the pilot. There’s a scene where his shaky hands accidentally dial 911.

“Sometimes it's frustrating, and sometimes it's funny,” Fox explained, notes The Hollywood Reporter. “I look at it that way, and I think other people need to look at it that way. … If someone wants to be outraged, they can be outraged. I don't think it's that outrageous.”

Fox was joined by executive producers Will Gluck and Sam Laybourne and his co-stars, Betsy Brandt and Wendell Pierce.

Fox’s show has already been picked up for 22 episodes and NBC is banking on it to lift its comedy line-up out of the ratings basement.

“We've done six episodes now,” Fox said, trying to assure critics that he can do 22 episodes. “I knew one of two things would happen over the year: I would atrophy or I'd rebuild the muscles -- and I'm rebuilding the muscles.”

The Michael J. Fox Show kicks off on Sept. 26.

image: NBC