There were two huge pieces of news from NBC yesterday.

The first one was hardly unexpected -- NBC will end long-running sitcom "The Office" at the end of the upcoming season.

Some people, including me, would argue that this news should have come a couple of seasons ago, as the show has languished creatively for a while. It was especially directionless last season after the departure of Steve Carell.

By announcing the final season, it gives the opportunity to the writers to focus their energies in ending the series on a satisfactory note. And the show won't be completely gone -- NBC has already announced the spinoff based on Dwight's family at the Schrute farm for this season.

It's an interesting time for NBC, which will end "The Office" at the same time "30 Rock" wraps up for good.

The other piece of news was much more interesting -- NBC won a bidding war for a new comedy starring Michael J. Fox.

Fox, of course, is a TV legend with shows such as "Family Ties" and "Spin City," and has managed to overcome his Parkinson's Disease to do memorable guest spots over the past few years on shows like "Scrubs," "The Good Wife" and "Rescue Me," among others.

Obviously, Fox feels he can handle his health issues well enough to endure the grind of a full TV season, which is great news.

And there's no question that NBC is committed to this: the network ordered a full 22-episode season without even a pilot being produced, which is almost unheard of in the TV business.

For lagging NBC, it's a no-brainer. They get to bring home one of its best stars and get a high-profile project to boot.

Perhaps this is the sparkplug the network needs to return to its glory days.

WEDNESDAY'S BEST BETS: Summer continues to wind down with new episodes of "Royal Pains" and "Necessary Roughness" from 9-11 p.m. on USA. ABC Family has new episodes of "Melissa & Joey" and "Baby Daddy" from 8-9 p.m. On the networks, there's a new "NY Med" (ABC, 10 p.m.)