Fox joins ‘Rescue Me’ for four episodes

Michael J. Fox will return to series TV with a four-episode guest role on FX’s “Rescue Me.”

Fox will be introduced next spring in the fifth-season premiere of the show, starring Denis Leary as troubled firefighter Tommy Gavin. His character, who uses a wheelchair, is the new boyfriend of Gavin’s estranged wife.

The 47-year-old star of TV’s “Family Ties” and “Spin City” and the “Back to the Future” films was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a chronic, progressive disorder of the central nervous system, in 1991 and quit acting full time in 2000.

Fox since has appeared sporadically in smaller roles, including a several-episode guest appearance in 2006 on ABC’s “Boston Legal.” For that role and others, he generally has sought to control his movements.