Tyler Ritter Continues A Family Tradition with 'The McCarthys'

It's been over 30 years since John Ritter first made us laugh as Jack in Three's Company, and now his youngest son Tyler is carrying on the family legacy and breaking out in his own sitcom.

ET was on the set of Tyler's new show, The McCarthys, where he opened up about following in his late father's comedic footsteps.

"It feels very kind of surreal because he didn't see a lot of my acting abilities," the 29-year-old told ET. "I do feel his presence and I know somewhere he's proud of me."

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Tyler was just 18 when his father tragically passed away from a sudden aortic dissection. He says he and his siblings, including brother and fellow actor Jason Ritter, share fond memories of their dad taking them to set.

"I really got to see my dad enjoy every day that he was working," he said. "Everybody should be able to have this much fun when they go to work. He really paved that way for us and so here I am."

In The McCarthys, which debuts Thursday on CBS, Tyler plays the gay son of a very close-knit Boston family. Not only is his performance drawing comparisons to his dad, but you may remember that Jack from Three's Company was a straight guy who pretended to be gay to his landlord to shack up with two girls.

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"It's a similar enough character, we're both kind of goofy," he explains. "We trip every once in a while, whether it's physically, or over our words, or just socially. So there are enough similarities between Ronny and [my dad's character] Jack."

Laurie Metcalf plays Tyler's overbearing mom on the show and says that she also sees a lot of John in his son.

"The resemblance is so strong," she says. "I know that his dad's reputation of having such a big heart is what everybody remembers him for, and Tyler's the same way."

Watch the video for more behind the scenes of The McCarthys.

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