Checking in with JASON RITTER

The title role of “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” probably could have suited his late father John, too ... but does Jason Ritter think so?

“It didn’t occur to me when I read” the pilot script, says the friendly star of the seriocomic ABC series that premieres Tuesday, Oct. 3. “But then when we were doing it, I sort of started to think about how he would feel about me doing it. Doing things with both comedic and dramatic elements was something he really enjoyed.”

The younger Ritter plays an unlikely deputy, indeed, to save all of mankind, after an otherworldly encounter lands ne’er-do-well Kevin that colossal assignment from a celestial representative (Kimberly Hebert Gregory). His widowed twin sister and her teenage daughter (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Chloe East) don’t quite buy that he’s one of the 36 souls tasked to keep the world going by giving hope to others.

“One of the reasons I love doing independent film so much,” Ritter reflects, “is that you’re getting to do someone’s artistic vision. It’s very clear, and they’re telling the story they want to tell, and this felt similar. There was a level of assured storytelling that felt like, ‘Yep. This is the show. We’re doing our own thing.’ And it surprised me, and I appreciated it.”

Also a star of November’s National Geographic war-drama miniseries “The Long Road Home,” Ritter – who’s engaged to actress Melanie Lynskey (“Two and a Half Men”) – also appreciates the surprises he’s continuing to find in “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.”

He knows from having done other shows (“The Event,” “Joan of Arcadia,” etc.), that “you never know what the second episode is going to be, or the third, and I’ve been really excited by the direction that this show is going in ... and it’s not the one I thought it would be, but that’s what’s so special about the show. Every episode has been very fresh.”

Birthdate: Feb. 17, 1980

Birthplace and current residence: Los Angeles

Family info: Engaged to actress Melanie Lynskey; his parents are actress Nancy Morgan and the late “Three’s Company” star John Ritter; his grandfather was actor-musician Tex Ritter (“High Noon”); his brother Tyler also is an actor