14 DAY TRIAL // Michael J. Fox will be playing a newscaster and father of 2 in the new NBC family comedy, it has emerged. The role will mimic the actor’s real life, in that he will play a man who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.
Fans must know that the actor has been struggling with the disease for years. His character will do the same and, just like he also did, will come back to work after new medication helps him control most of the symptoms of the disease.
“The TV comedy, which doesn't have a title yet, is a key piece of NBC's strategy to build upon a revival that has brought the network back from many years in the ratings wilderness,” Fox News reports.
Neither does the comedy have a final release date yet, though reports say that NBC is looking to start airing it sometime in September, presumably on Thursdays.
“It's a family show that has him dealing with work and office relationships as well as dealing with kind of his public persona, which is very real. You see, he gets a standing ovation everywhere he shows up, and the idea that he's sort of been put up on this pedestal by the country and the world, really. He's just a regular guy, who gets frustrated, who gets mad at having to sit at home,” Jennifer Salke, the network’s entertainment president, says.
The new show will take place in NYC, and will shoot there as well.