(May 2009) - PCM had the great opportunity to sit in on a media conference call with actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar. His 'Saved By The Bell' days (probably the show he is best known for) are long over and he's gearing up for a new season of the hit legal drama series, Raising The Bar. Check out some Q&A from the call below and learn about what to expect from the show this season. Gosselaar describes his character and the relationship he'll have with others during the upcoming season. You'll also get the scoop on guest stars and what's next for the show!

Q: What about your role as Jerry on 'Raising The Bar' continues to challenge you?

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: Well, the challenging thing is you know is we don't hear from this side of the criminal justice system all that often. You don't hear too much about public defenders and their clients. So it's you know these - the stories that they're coming up with - and a lot of them are true because our co-creator is David Feige who is a public defender for 15 years. They're extremely challenging. You find yourself as you know as an individual going, this really happens? I mean this isn't something that you guys completely made up in left field? And that's what challenges us to find the compassion in these people, these clients. These are human beings.

But you know the amazing thing that I found from - that I learned from preparing from this role is that Jerry isn't unusual. There are thousands of passionate, dedicated public defenders out there every day who are fighting against a system that they think is terribly stacked against the poor and the powerless. So you know this isn't - we just don't hear from them because it's really not a sexy thing to hear about public defenders and their clients.

Q: Is there a certain type of role that you would like to someday tackle that you haven't already played?

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: Yes, I'd like to play you know I say this now and when you're sitting in the chair you know every morning getting about 3 hours of prosthetic makeup on you that it wouldn't feel so good; but something to the effect that would completely change my appearance where I'd have to sit in the chair you know and get something done. Whether it's you know something physically altering.

You know I love watching some of these film actors that completely change their looks to tackle a role. I'd like to do something like that. Whether it's something I'd played before, but just to alter your appearance. And I say that - that sounds good now and of course, a month into filming and you've been sitting on the chair for hours it becomes a bit tedious. But I don't know, some role where I change my appearance completely. Not just the hair.

Q: Do you guys have any guest starts coming up this season on 'Raising The Bar?'

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: Oh man, we have so many great guest stars. The guest stars are what the show revolves around. We have these stories that we tell on the show we really need some good guest stars and then we get them. It's I mean we've just had such a great - I just thank the casting that they're able to get these great actors. But John Michael Higgins is coming on as a judge for roughly about six or seven episodes. Very talented actor. And yes we just - our show revolves around these actors and they've - they don't let us down.

Q: Are there any issues that are coming up this season on your show that are particularly special or took added significance to you?

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: No, I think we you know we built a very strong foundation last year with the show. We only had 10 episodes to work with so it was - it felt a bit rushed. We're doing 15 this year. It seems that you know we're able to broaden these characters. The word that you know we use a lot on this show now, to describe what we're doing this upcoming season, is more.

We just have more complex, interesting cases, more characters you know with the new judge, Judge Farnsworth, played by John Michael Higgins brings another perspective to the bench. There's more arguments and clashes with the prosecutors and the judges. You know just more romance. We have some great romances brewing. So yes, more.

Q: Can you sum up maybe what you're really most hopeful for the second season as compared to the first season. What you hope the viewers see this year as opposed to what we might have seen last year?

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: Well, I - I hope that they can enjoy the show you know as much as they did last year. And you know there's a sort of confidence that you have with a second season and I think it overall makes the show better.

And I hope - I hope that you know with that confidence you know it sort of relaxes the audience as well because an audience sometimes watches the show and doesn't want to get too involved with it because they're not sure if the time that they invest in it is going to add up and it's going to get canceled after the first season.

Having a second season I think it really sort of calms an audience down. They can enjoy the show, invest the time into the characters and into the stories and know that they're not going to get you know the show's going to be on for 15 episodes. It's not going to be taken off the air.

Q: For someone joining the show in the second season, what do you think is the most important thing or things they should know about season one?

Mark-Paul Gosselaar: Well you know the show is not your typical - well, I shouldn't say it's not your typical, but it's unlike the legal dramas that we've seen in the past. You know we deal - we're not a how show and we're a why. Why did this person do that? You know the truth about most crimes is they're really driven by really basic things; poverty, jealousy, desperation. You know and you sort of stick a label on people for their crime.

But what this show does so effectively is tell the story behind the case you know allowing the audience, allowing you to see the clients the way their lawyers do and when that happens, guilty or innocent becomes you know much more muddy and less clear. So that's basically our show in a nutshell is that it's allowing you to see the gray in criminal justice system. And it makes it unlike other legal dramas.