Michael J Fox's new sitcom gets axed

Michael J Fox's new sitcom has been axed.

The Michael J Fox Show has been cancelled after just 15 episodes.

The Back to the Future actor's self-titled sitcom has lost its prime time Thursday night slot in favour of Hollywood Game Night - a game show presented by Jane Lynch - after network NBC decided to pull the plug because of poor ratings.

Entertainment Weekly confirmed the news and with only 15 out the 22 episodes of the show having been aired so far, it's still unclear whether the remaining instalments will be broadcast at all.

The reports come after NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt described The Michael J Fox Show as a "uphill battle" at the Television Critics Association press tour last month, admitting he wasn't happy with its dismal ratings.

Despite the show's failure to pull in audiences, the series was honoured, along with five others, with the Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series in June last year.

The series marked a highly anticipated return to television for Fox, who hadn't had a leading role in a sitcom since his five-year stint in Spin City came to an end in 2000 as his battle with Parkinson's disease - which he was diagnosed with in 1991 - worsened.

The actor - who set up the Michael J Fox Foundation to help find a cure for the degenerative condition - had only made several minor guest appearances on TV shows, including Rescue Me, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Good Wife, before The Michael J Fox Show was commissioned.

- Bang! Showbiz