Raising the Bar's Mark-Paul Gosselaar: "We Like to Tease"

The hunky star of TNT's courtroom drama talks haircuts, kissing and season two

Mark-Paul Gosselaar is all grown up for season two of TNT's courtroom drama Raising the Bar, and he's got the haircut to prove it.

The usually shaggy-haired star, known for his breakout role in Saved by the Bell and later NYPD Blue, sat down with us exclusively to chat about his newly trimmed 'do, his upcoming kissing scenes and what's in store for Jerry Kellerman in the new season...

How does your new haircut fit into the plot of the show?
Ahhh, the hair, it's still there. I still got some on there. Jerry's on trial. He's going through the voir dire process [of screening jury members]. A potential juror doesn't think he can trust Jerry because of his appearance. So Jerry takes that element right off by cutting his hair. It's showing that he's being a bit more tactful and maturing. I think last season he would have just blown that guy out of the water. He would have stepped right on his soapbox and told him, 'How dare you call me a dirty hippie?!'

Is he any less of a crusader now?
No, not at all. Just in different ways. [Pointing to head] He has to use this a little more. He was very loud last season. He rushed in without even thinking about the consequences—sometimes at the expense of his clients. And I think you see bits and pieces of that.

What can you tell us about the relationships with your coworkers, especially the thing between you and Michelle (Melissa Sagemiller)?
We're on episode eight now, and no conclusions yet. It's still there though. We have 15 episodes this year instead of 10. Last season the show was like a sprint, and this time we can tread at the water stations and take some breaks along the way. We're going to see how far we can take that. I think it's more enjoyable as an audience member to let that sit for a while too.

So will there be a resolution to the question of Jerry and Michelle's feelings?
No, not really.

What? Not even any kissing?
I didn't say there wasn't any kissing. [Smiles] I just said there was no resolution. There are little sprinklings of progress, there are things there. We like to tease. We're going through the teasing and flirting phase of the relationship. Lots of romance on Raising the Bar.

(By the way, if you're a Jerry-Michelle fan, we hear that kissing goes down in episode six.)

Raising the Bar's second season debuts Monday at 10 p.m. on TNT.