Adventures of an Optimist

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Actor Michael J. Fox is making his return to prime-time with the launch of ABC’s Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist on May 7th. For the show, Fox will travel the world to find examples of what makes people from different cultures their happiest.

The Back to the Future star's career has been sidelined since his diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease but never one to dwell on the negative, this optimist says the years since his diagnosis have been some of his happiest.

The first stop of Michael J. Fox’s globe-trotting expedition is the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, which he chose because he believes the region is “unusually committed to the well-being of its citizens.”

Speaking of caring about the well-being of others, The Michael J. Fox Foundation has funded almost $140 million in research to create better Parkinson’s treatments. Parkinson’s is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that leads to the loss of cells in the brain and impaired motor capabilities.

The Foundation supports stem cell research in its search for a cure and Fox spoke on Monday about how happy he was with Obama’s decision to lift the stem cell ban, saying “Today is a new day. I could not be more thrilled to see President Obama live up to his commitment to get politics out of science.”

So let us know – will you tune in for your weekly dose of happy? Think you could learn a thing or two about how other cultures stay smiling? Comment below!