Michael J. Fox finds laughs in battle with Parkinson’s

Michael J. Fox has had a long, public battle with Parkinson’s disease, but now he’s mining it for laughs in a new NBC sitcom.

“The Michael J. Fox Show,” due Thursdays in September, stars Fox as Mike Henry, a New York news anchor who leaves his job to confront the disease and, like Fox, returns to work years later.

Fox confronts his health issues head-on: Several jokes in the pilot episode address his disability, including shakiness on the air.

“There’s nothing horrifying about it to me,” he says. “I don’t think it’s gothic nastiness. There’s nothing horrible on the surface about someone with a shaky hand. The way I look at it, sometimes it’s frustrating, sometimes it’s funny. I need to look at it that way.”

Everyone has issues to deal with, Fox says. “We all get our own Parkinson’s, our own thing, (and people will say) ‘I need to laugh at that, too.’ If someone wants to be outraged, they can. I don’t think it’s that outrageous.”

But the show won’t dwell on it: “It’s always going to be there, but it’s not going to be the spotlight,” says executive producer Sam Laybourne.

The show blends work and family life, with an emphasis on the latter. Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”), who plays Fox’s wife, says that as that intense series was ending, “I was really hoping I would get a comedy. I didn’t want to chase the next ‘Breaking Bad,’ because there may never be one.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is among the real-life news subjects. Fox’s real wife, Tracy Pollan, guest-stars in the third episode. And Anne Heche has been cast as Mike’s nemesis, who will show up in later episodes. nel; Kym Whitley; Will.i.am performs.

8 p.m. CH3 Dr. Oz: Outrageous questions; Dr. Oz’s embarrassing health quirk. CH7 Rachael Ray: Rachael’s husband makes cocktails; Kevin Jonas and wife, Danielle; Philly cheesesteak bites.

10:34 p.m. CH12 Jay Leno: Kate Hudson; Bob Costas; Kopecky Family Band perform (N).

10:35 p.m. CH5 David Letterman: Matt Damon; Hanni El Khatib performs (N). CH15 Jimmy Kimmel: Johnny Knoxville; Logan Lerman; Queens of the Stone Age (N).

11 p.m. TBS: Conan: Kevin Nealon; NASCAR pit-crew member Christmas Abbott (N).

11:36 p.m. CH12 Jimmy Fallon: Tyra Banks; Simon Pegg (N).

11:37 p.m. CH5 Craig Ferguson: Jane Leeves; Ahna O’Reilly; Backstreet Boys perform (N).

12:36 a.m. CH12 Carson Daly: Michelle Rodriguez; Hanni El Khatib; the Men perform.

(N) indicated new episode.