September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26) – January 23, 2014 (2014-01-23)
The Michael J. Fox Show is an American television sitcom starring Michael J. Fox, that aired on NBC from September 26, 2013, to January 23, 2014.[1][2] Fox made his regular return to television for the first time since he was on ABC's Spin City. It was his second NBC series, as he appeared on that network's sitcom Family Ties from 1982 to 1989 as Alex P. Keaton.
On February 5, 2014, NBC cancelled the series due to the 2014 Winter Olympics.[3] A representative for NBC later stated in regard to the show, "It's not cancelled. We are looking for a place on the schedule after April 3."[4] Despite this, the remaining episodes never aired in the U.S. and, on May 10, 2014, NBC officially canceled the show after one season.[5] The remaining seven episodes were aired in Australia on Nine Network from March 12 to April 23, 2014.
Premise
After being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Mike Henry had to give up his career as a news anchor for New York's WNBC and focus on his health and his family. Four years later, Mike decides to get back to work and struggles between family and career.
After retiring from working as a newscaster to focus on his health and to spend more time with his family, Mike Henry returns to work. Mike's daughter Eve makes a video project comparing the book The Grapes of Wrath to her father's returning to work.
Mike develops a crush on his new upstairs neighbor Kelly (Tracy Pollan, Fox's wife in real life), a newly divorced woman. Eve tries to become best friends with a girl (Alice Kremelberg) she thinks is a lesbian. Leigh pretends that Graham is her son to bond with other single mothers.
Eve takes up nude photography, much to Mike and Annie's chagrin. Ian gets bad relationship advice from Harris, which Leigh tries to fix. Graham learns a technique to stay out of trouble.
Mike and Annie try to get Graham into an afterschool hobby. Susan Rodriguez Jones (Anne Heche), a mean news reporter that Mike previously worked with, gets a job at WNBC. Ian and Leigh help Eve deal with a cyberbully.
Eve gets an internship at WNBC working for Susan, which makes Mike jealous. Annie has a hard time telling Leigh that the teen novel that she is writing is terrible. With help from Graham, Ian interviews potential interns for his new upstart business.
After Mike has apologized to a rude stranger for Annie's hot-headed behavior, she demands he be more of a team player. Harris hosts an office karaoke party. Leigh adopts a puppy with good intentions, but Eve is left in charge. Meanwhile, Ian, still stuck in Graham's tiny old bedroom, tries to convince his brother to switch back.
Mike is asked to play in a charity golf tournament, so he and Annie decide to make it a romantic getaway weekend. Another celebrity golfer (Jason Jones) becomes the bane of his existence. The kids rent out their home to make money while their parents are gone.
Mike's love for his sister, Leigh, is put to the test when a bed bug infestation forces her to move in with his family. Meanwhile, Eve has trouble getting out of a practical joke she's played on her brother Ian.
Graham starts throwing away things his parents no longer use after they clear his room of toys that he no longer plays with. Ian plans for a high school dance instead of thinking of college. Eve tells Leigh a secret, which upsets Annie.
Mike's parents (Charles Grodin and Candice Bergen) visit for Thanksgiving, much to Leigh's, and later Annie's, discontent. Eve and Harris search for a can of cranberry sauce, finding out it's not as easy as it seems.
Mike throws a party for Harris to celebrate a journalism award, but he has to pretend Harris is engaged so his friends will attend. Meanwhile, Ian gets Eve to help him save Graham's party from Annie's overprotectiveness.
Mike's neighbor (Richard Kind) turns out to be a mobster on the lam who he has known for fifteen years. Harris and Leigh's relationship progresses. The kids try to find out what is in an owl the mobster neighbor left.
Mike and Annie befriend their new neighbors and Harris gets jealous. Eve pretends to have a very troubled family to impress a guy. Graham thinks Ian is a spy.
Unaired (United States) March 19, 2014 (2014-03-19) (Australia)
1017
N/A
Mike enlists a neighbor to run against Annie for co-op president. Ian throws himself into work to recover from a recent breakup, while Leigh wonders how to approach her date with a literary agent.
Unaired (United States) April 9, 2014 (2014-04-09) (Australia)
1020
N/A
Mike and Annie try to keep Leigh from reuniting with an ex, Graham tricks Eve into spending more time with him, while Ian worries that an older woman only wants him for sex.
Unaired (United States) April 16, 2014 (2014-04-16) (Australia)
1022
N/A
While Mike and Annie are surprised by the age of the girlfriend that Ian brings home, Harris and Leigh struggle to be just friends and Eve experiments with marijuana.
The show had a positive reception from critics, with many praising Michael J. Fox and Betsy Brandt's performances.[31][32] It was called one of six new shows to keep an eye on of the 2013-14 television season by Entertainment Weekly.[33]The New York Times found the show distinctly unfunny, remarking that something felt "off".[34]
In Australia the series premiered in double episodes, each scoring the highest rated overnight subscription television figures of the night (77,000 and 73,000 respectively).[35] However, successive episodes saw a significant drop in ratings.[36]
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