'Southland': Season 3 teases from the cast and crew

One of the cool things about "Southland" is that, as noted in the video above, the show's characters are discovering things at pretty much the same time as the audience is discovering them.

That looks to be the case again when the show begins its third season on Jan. 4. The preview features a little bit of footage from the new season and quite a bit of interview material with the cast and producers, who offer up the following details about where the show picks up:

• The season starts six to nine months after Season 2 ended, which means Ben (Ben McKenzie) is more comfortable in the job and has gained a little bit of trust from Cooper (Michael Cudlitz).
• Cooper is still dealing with a lot of physical issues, and he's not handling it especially well.
• Russell (Tom Everett Scott) has recovered from being shot, but is chafing at being reassigned to the captain's office.
• Sammy (Shawn Hatosy) and Tammi (Emily Bergl) are "in the midst of some turmoil," as Hatosy puts it.

One thing that's not changing? The show's calling card of shooting most of the show on location around Los Angeles. It's what distinguishes "Southland" from most of the other cop shows on TV, and based on what we've seen fans will get much more of that in the coming season.

"Southland" premieres at 10 p.m. ET Jan. 4 on TNT.