Ty Burrell Returns to the Spotlight for Project That’s Personal, Says He’s Getting the ‘Itch’ to Perform Again (Exclusive)

Modern Family star Ty Burrell gearing for a new project — and it’s personal.

“I’ve been thinking of how best to tell this story forever,” Burrell, 57, tells PEOPLE of the scripted Audible podcast series The Good Life, which is out now.

The story follows the tale of a family who leaves Los Angeles to live in the tiny town of Applegate, Oregon, to run its general store — something that Burrell’s own family did when he was a kid.

“The Good Life show is a different iteration of that, but the stories are rooted in truth,” he says of the scripted series, which also stars Jennifer Garner, Colton Dunn, Jillian Bell and Ego Nwodim.

The actor shares how art intimates life as he recalls his childhood.

“My dad and his brother decided to buy this general store because they thought it was a good investment, which is absolutely hilarious,” he continues of the real-life plot.

“There were 200 people in the town total, so only 200 customers were possible. I still remember my dad in the car after we signed the papers. He looked in the rearview mirror and said, ‘Kids, we’re sitting on a gold mine!'”

However, the purchase of the store didn’t go to plan. He laughs now as he recalls, “We lost money. But we had the store for eight years, and very much that part of the show is exactly the same. This is not an exaggeration, actually — it was the post office, it was the library, it was the fire department. There was a fire truck in a little section of it. It was the hardware store. Grocery store.”

He shares the reason they moved was his dad, a therapist, was feeling burned out. “They were trying to improve their families’ lives,” he explains. “I went kicking and screaming, but I ended up loving it.”

Burrell serves as the narrator on the show, while Garner plays the family matriarch.

Garner’s character has a breakdown at her busy corporate job and agrees with her husband (Colton Dunn) that a move to a small town is just what the family needs.

“Somebody said it was the perfect road trip show, and it kind of is,” Garner says of the series. “It’s gentle, it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s ridiculous.”

She says that when Burrell called, she didn’t hesitate to join the project.

“We’d known each other for 15 years, when we did Butter,” Burrell says of his long friendship with Garner. “I remember because I had just abandoned my new baby, and Jen was so helpful during that time, while I was having a rough time trying to figure out if I was ruining my family by taking off and shooting a movie.”

“Nah…Holly [Burrell’s wife] is a rockstar,” Garner says.

The two have small-town roots in common — Garner grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and says she enjoyed a more community-focused upbringing.

“It wasn’t a small town but not a city either,” she says. “I think in a smaller town, there is room for people to be real characters, and that certainly was true in West Virginia. It still is. The local sheriff was also in the community theater, alongside a major heart surgeon. You are part of your community in a way that’s much harder to do in L.A. Although I think that’s something that I always took with me — I look for that community wherever I am. Even if I’m on location, back when I used to be able to bring the kids, we’d always go to the library and get a library card, things like that.”

Burrell, who left Los Angeles for Salt Lake City in 2020 (where he runs several restaurants), says he’s also enjoying a quieter life.

“It’s been spectacular. I don’t have any regrets,” he says about moving out of L.A. for Utah. “It’s been lovely and a great place to raise the kids.”

He adds, “But I’m starting to get the itch again to perform. I’ve mostly done voiceover work and things like this podcast. And if it accidentally works, I’d love to do a second season. It was such a fun process and has so many great people in it. I hope people check it out.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Good Life podcast series is now available on Audible.