LOS ANGELES (TNA) – When you’re working in television, the third year isn’t always the charm.

That’s the cold hard truth according to actor Robert Gossett, who plays crusty “Commander Taylor” on the TNT series “The Closer,” which in its third season is one of the most-watched dramas on cable TV.

But while reaching the third season is a milestone, it can also be a millstone, according to Gossett. “Generally, the third season is the show starts to fade; the writers start to run out of ideas.”

'Closer' cast member Robert Gossett

Luckily, he says that isn’t happening with “The Closer,” which is fighting the third season doldrums by fleshing out the other characters besides “Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson,” the character played by series star Kyra Sedgwick.

“It’s still Kyra’s show,” Gossett said. “But the first season, my character was just angry and not going to take it anymore. Now, he’s trying to get along with ‘Brenda’ and deal with his hurt feelings.”

Gossett, the cousin of Oscar-winning actor Lou Gossett, didn’t start out as an actor. Music is his first love and he still plays the clarinet. In fact, he approaches acting more like a musician than an actor.

“I view ‘The Closer’ cast as a jazz ensemble,” Gossett said. “I’m the tenor sax player who helps set the theme and then Kyra takes the lead during the song, then I step in and have 32 bars to blow my riff.

“Like jazz, the show is all give-and-take, and variations on a theme.”

Gossett says the crew encourages his jazz metaphor on set: The actors are encouraged to improvise their lines, and sometimes that means the show doesn’t fit neatly into its 60-minute time slot.

“Episode 4 ran long, so the network agreed to cut a few commercials rather than cut the show,” Gossett said proudly. “And when they reran the episode, they added eight extra minutes.”

Adding to the jazzy feeling is what goes on after the shooting is complete.

Because Gossett, Sedgwick and the other cast members have theatrical backgrounds, there are cast parties every Friday that usually center around music. Sometimes, they will do karaoke songs in character, other times, the cast and crew members who are musicians will jam together.

“It always changes,” Gossett said. “The thing is, we like working together so much that we never want to go home.”

But even when Gossett does go home, he still doesn’t leave work.

“I am always thinking about my character, even in Costco,” Gossett said. “I read detective novels trying to understand my character better. I even took an acting class during my vacation.”

It might seem strange for Gossett to take acting lessons, when his resume includes appearances in films and TV shows like “Batman Returns,” and “NYPD Blue,” but he doesn’t see it that way.

“I took the class because I want to learn how to act,” he said. “I enjoy getting better at it.”

The class focused on TV acting, which he said is still a challenge for him. Stage acting requires an actor to exaggerate his movements so they can be picked up by the last seat row of the theater, whereas TV acting requires more subtlety.

“I’m still learning how to let the camera do the work, and trusting that it will pick up my emotions,” Gossett said. “It’s an adjustment. There are times when I finish a scene and am so into my character that I don’t whether I said all my lines.”

“The Closer” airs Monday nights on TNT.

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