{alltv} Ben McKenzie walks the 'Southland' beat

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Ben McKenzie had a year off between filming the second and third season of his ensemble police drama, Southland, which returns to TNT on Jan. 4 (10 p.m. ET/PT). But unlike during his breaks from The O.C., which brought him instant fame in 2003, this time there was little talk about his travels to Spain, Turkey and London.

"If that is true, and I pray that it is, then that's the best news ever," says McKenzie, 32. "I like it when (the paparazzi) look at you and are like, 'He's a little old. I don't really even want to bother with who he is or isn't dating.' I think it's fantastic."

In fact, when McKenzie, who plays rookie Officer Ben Sherman on Southland, was hunting around for new projects, he specifically sought out a role and a series far removed from his old teen soap. Getting typecast, "that to me was terrifying. In a way, all of us off (The O.C.) benefited backhandedly from it not being (Beverly Hills) 90210 and lasting 10 years. We'd all have bigger houses and drive nicer cars, but how big a house do you need and how nice a car do you need?"

Yes, Southland is also set in Southern California — but in diverse Los Angeles, where things can be a lot grittier than in affluent Orange County. And with the show's third season produced for the first time for cable ( although season 2 also aired on TNT, originally it had been made for NBC, until the network canceled it andTNT picked it up), the show will be able to take an edgier turn.

"L.A. is more ethnically and racially and socioeconomically diverse than it's been portrayed on television," says McKenzie about Southland's more "realistic" view. "We're trying to embrace L.A. for the chaotic environment it can be and use that to our advantage when we're trying to find stories to tell."

McKenzie thinks there are also differences between Southland and other cop shows, which typically "portray a very black-and-white, morally unambiguous world: There are good guys who are the cops and there are bad guys who are the people perpetrating the crimes." On his show, on the other hand, "the cops are seeing a lot of bad things. The cops are good people, but they have their faults. A lot of crimes are not solved." The world of Southland "is more ambiguous than that standard cop show."

As Officer Sherman's confidence as a cop evolves, McKenzie's confidence as an actor is also growing. "I don't feel I ever was given the opportunity to do what I believe I'm capable of doing on The O.C.," he says. "This is a different thing."