2013 TV Upfronts: No shortage of NBC plugs in Michael J. Fox show

NEW YORK -- Looks like there will be no shortage of plugs for NBC in the network’s new sitcom starring Michael J. Fox.

A preview clip that the network showed to advertisers during its upfront presentation Monday at Radio City Music Hall looked like one big promotion for the network.

The premise of the program -- titled “The Michael J. Fox Show” -- is that Fox is Mike Burnaby, a TV reporter who retires after he can no longer mask the symptoms of his Parkinson’s disease.

VIDEO: NBC comedy trailers 2013

But being at home doesn’t suit him or his family so he tries to go back to work. And where did Fox’s character work? At NBC’s New York TV station WNBC-TV of course.

Not only are there lots of shots of Fox working for WNBC and Peacock logos aplenty, his comeback is national news and he ends up as a guest on, where else, the “Today” show.

Who knows. Maybe if the show is still going next year, Fox’s character can be a guest on “The Tonight Show” after Jimmy Fallon takes over as host and it moves from Los Angeles to New York.

This is all part of NBC’s so-called Project Symphony strategy. It’s why you see MSNBC stars doing cameos on NBC sitcoms. It’s why Brian Williams sometimes shows a “Saturday Night Live” clip as part of the coverage of North Korea testing nuclear weapons. It’s why “Meet the Press” did a feature on the Stanley Cup, which NBC carries.

It’s also why some viewers are getting pretty cynical.

[For the Record, 11:53 a.m. PDT May 13: An earlier version of this online article incorrectly said that Jimmy Kimmel is taking over as host of “The Tonight Show.” It is Jimmy Fallon.]

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Follow Joe Flint on Twitter @JBFlint.