Billy Gardell Says Bob Hearts Abishola Is 'More of an Intimate Story' in Final Season (Exclusive)

With Bob Hearts Abishola in its final season, Billy Gardell is waxing nostalgic about the show.

In this week's issue of PEOPLE, the actor, 54, hints at what viewers can expect from the feel-good CBS sitcom in which he plays Bob, a sock businessman married to Abishola (Folake Olowofoyeku), a nurse he met in the hospital following a heart attack.

“It's becoming more of a smaller show, more of an intimate story,” he explains, adding, “It starts off with some shifting going on in the company to make the company survivable. I think they're just finding, like any married couple, what works best for them, and I still think they're trying to figure that out. So that's the story right now, them trying to figure out what the balance is.”

Gardell, whose last TV hit was the comedy series Mike & Molly with Melissa McCarthy, offers a theory as to why the show resonated with viewers for five years.

“The commonality is love wins. With Mike & Molly, it was two people who thought they'd never fall in love falling in love and Bob and Abishola, it's two people from two completely different worlds that we're both willing to go, ‘You know what? Let's follow this and see where it goes,’” he explains. “I think that's where magic happens. I think it doesn't matter what you look like or where you're from, once you find someone who cares about you and loves you, I think that you win. Whatever that looks like, man. If you've got a hand to hold in that bed at the end of the day, you're a winner.”

With the show heading towards its series finale on May 13, Gardell is looking forward to traveling with Patty — his wife of 23 years whom he credits as “the reason I’m a decent human being” — through Europe and spending time with his 23-year-old aspiring director son William.

“[He] wants to run away and join the circus like I did, but he has a heart of gold,” Gardell explains. “I can honestly say that we put a kind human being out there, and that's all you can ask for as a parent.”

The actor would also like to tackle more dramatic roles, which he calls “older character” parts like the police chief or a navy admiral that often go to more seasoned performers.

“I think you’ve got to go to the places you haven't been yet,” he explains. “And look, don't get me wrong, if another sitcom comes along and they want me, I'm in. But while I'm waiting for that, I'm going to try to follow my dreams of doing some dramatic stuff. I would really love to make that turn, and I think I'm capable of it. I just need that opportunity. But I'm a pretty good long shot, so you should probably put a few bucks on me.

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.

Bob Hearts Abishola airs Mondays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.