The family drama series The Baxters will premiere tomorrow, March 28, on the Prime Video streaming service in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Actor Ted McGinley stars as John Baxter in the series, which is based on the worldwide #1 New York Times Best-selling book series by Karen Kingsbury, and he has revealed that being a father in his personal life helped him understand and embody the role.

During a new interview with ComingSoon, McGinley explained that playing the role of the family's patriarch came naturally because he works hard as a father himself to ensure that his sons know he will always be there for them, something that is echoed by his on-screen character:

"I could sit with my boys all day long and talk to them about, “Well, you can’t do this, and you shouldn’t do that,” or, “You need to read this. Life comes at you, and you have to learn to build a foundation,” and then everyone can work out of there. But the one thing they know inside and out is that I’m not going anywhere. My wife isn’t going anywhere. “We’re going to be here forever for you, no matter what.” That’s a great gift that you can hand off to somebody else.

John Baxter, the character, is very much that way. He is a rock. Roma’s (Downey) character, Elizabeth, is more emotional. She’s also the center with John, but she’s much more of a feeler. John is incredibly centered and makes good strong decisions, takes his time.

But the one thing you could ask any one of his kids is, “My dad will always be here for me.” That’s a real responsibility, as an actor, to come in and make sure that that comes across. I think you’re right, like when I saw the first season, I was like, “Ah, I wish I was in here a little more.” [Laughs]. So I kind of come in more later. It was an important thing because we had a lot of young kids who were relatively new and hadn’t been on a lot of sets. My job on set was also the same thing, it was, “Hey, if you have questions, I’m here. We’re going to be here on time. We’re going to know our lines — all that stuff.” It carried over into real life on set as well.”

McGinley also spoke about what drew him to the project, admitting that the way in which the series tackles real issues and how families confront them felt important:

“I’ve done some faith-based films, and typically, they avoid… This show shows a lot of what’s going on in real life — a lot of the issues, and it shows them happening a lot of times in some of these films where they just sort of talk about it. You never see it. Here, they’re right up front, and I think that that is kind of brave in a way for that world. And to your point, when you see people actually going through these things, you actually can sort of move forward and of learn from the moment.”

“I do think that’s one of the great values of the show for me. Getting ready for it as a dad and a longtime married man and a man of faith, it was sort of a natural interest. And I like the idea that really this is a soap opera. Roma Downey calls it a “hope opera,” and Mark Burnett, her husband, calls it “Melrose Place meets the Bible,” which I think is kind of funny because it’s got all these hot young kids in it, and it’s also got the Bible. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen or been a part of before.”

Watch The Baxters on Prime Video from tomorrow and check out McGinley's interview in full below: