Nearly three decades after Joey McIntyre first batted those baby blues on stage with New Kids on the Block, he's still "Hangin' Tough" in the entertainment biz. Starting this week, he can be seen in the CBS sitcom The McCarthys, his first regular TV role since he appeared on a season of Boston Public in 2003. 

"When I read the script, I knew these characters," McIntyre, 41, tells Yahoo TV of the Irish-American, Boston-based, sports-loving clan. As a Massachusetts native and the youngest of nine children, the fictional McCarthys are a family he understands: "I just felt like I had a lifetime of preparation for this role." 

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While "Pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd" jokes are expected on the show — which also stars Laurie Metcalf, Tyler Ritter, Jack McGee, Jimmy Dunn, and Kelen Coleman — McIntyre notes, "It's not all about Boston; it's going to appeal to the whole country, hopefully. It's about the family dynamic. We're a little too co-dependent, we're a little too close, we should probably get our own lives a little bit more, [but] we try to make up for our mistakes and learn from them." 

Speaking of mistakes, McIntyre has had such a long career in the spotlight — he joined NKOTB in 1984 at the age of 12 — that his questionable fashion choices over the years are well documented. Yet he gamely agreed to a game of Fashion Flashback, critiquing his best '80s and '90s looks, which include gems like the fanny pack that he wore "proud" and "well" to the dreaded "jean sandwich": 

Even more delightful? McIntyre indulged us when we asked him to play Complete the Lyrics, during which we gave him part of a line from a New Kids song — we picked some deep cuts — and asked him to sing the lyrics:

And to prepare for The McCarthys, we also gave him a Boston Lingo quiz. Is he a sprinkles or jimmies guy? What's his definition of a "Masshole"? Check out his wicked pissa responses:

The McCarthys debuts on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 9:30 p.m. on CBS.