Quick summary
- Before his famous roles, Michael J. Fox starred in a Canadian sitcom called Leo and Me.
- TVLine reports the series reportedly ran for just 12 episodes and is not available on any streaming platform.
- It has never been released on home media, and the closest fans can get is short clips on YouTube.
- A 2002 documentary drew attention to the show because several crew members were later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Long before Family Ties, Back to the Future and Spin City, Michael J. Fox played a teenager living on a boat. According to a TVLine report carried by Yahoo, that show, Leo and Me, is now effectively impossible to watch in full.
What was Leo and Me?
Fox was 16 when he played Jamie Romano, an orphan who lives with his fun-loving Italian uncle Leo on a boat Leo had won in a poker game. Leo was played by Brent Carver.
The report describes a series built on the antics of the pair. According to an episode list on LostMediaWiki, storylines included a disco contest, peanut butter advertising and a run-in with the mafia.
It is a long way from the roles that followed. Fox later played a young conservative at odds with his ex-hippie parents on Family Ties, travelled through time in the Back to the Future films, worked as a deputy mayor of New York on Spin City (a show that came before Charlie Sheen joined the cast, as TVLine puts it) and now plays Gerry on Apple TV’s Shrinking.
Why can’t you stream it?
Leo and Me aired on Canadian television in the late 1970s or early 1980s. TVLine notes that sources differ on the date. The series reportedly lasted only 12 episodes.
It has never been released on home media, and it is not on any streaming service. The report says the nearest thing to watching it is brief footage posted to YouTube. For a show starring an actor with a career this widely followed, that makes it a genuine piece of lost television.
The 2002 documentary connection
The sitcom drew some attention in 2002 through a documentary titled The Parkinson’s Enigma. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, at 29. TVLine reports that three other people who worked with him on Leo and Me were later diagnosed with the same disease, one of them in her 30s.
Four cases among a crew of about 125 people stands out, the report says, but it does not on its own point to a shared cause. A medical investigation looked at the cluster, and the idea that an infectious agent was responsible was widely disregarded.
Director Don Williams, one of the four people diagnosed, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer he could not recall anything significant on set, such as a widespread illness, when he tried to think back.
What happens next
Nothing has been announced about a release. The TVLine piece does not mention any plans for a restoration, a streaming deal or a home media edition, so for now Leo and Me stays a curiosity from the start of Fox’s career. Readers can follow everything we publish on Michael J. Fox for updates, and revisit how his breakout role nearly went elsewhere in Michael J. Fox Nearly Lost Family Ties Over His Height.
For more on his later work, see Michael J. Fox: From Palmerstown to Shrinking and our TV & Dramas coverage.
Frequently asked questions
What was Michael J. Fox’s first sitcom?
According to TVLine, it was Leo and Me, a Canadian series in which a 16-year-old Fox played Jamie Romano.
Can you watch Leo and Me online?
Not in full. The show is not on any streaming platform and was never released on home media. Short clips can be found on YouTube.
How many episodes of Leo and Me were made?
Reportedly 12, though the report uses that figure with a caveat and sources differ on when the show aired.
