In search of the scoundrel who murdered his mountie father, sweet-tempered, straight-arrow RCMP constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) shows up in the nail-tough 27th Police Precinct of Chicago as the tongue-in-cheek cop series Due South launches its first season. Teaming with sardonic, streetwise Chicago police detective Ray Vecchio (David Marciano), Benton manages to track down his quarry, but in so doing behaves in such an unorthodox manner that his Canadian superiors deem it wise to keep Fraser permanently in the Windy City, assigning him to the local Canadian Consulate. Season one proves to be quite a period of adjustment for the naïve Constable Fraser and his hearing-impaired pet wolfhound Diefenbaker, as they not only acclimate themselves to Chicago customs and procedures, but also attempt to create a cozy home out of their rundown apartment in one of the towns grungiest neighborhoods. Much to the dismay of rule-bound 27th Precinct Captain Welsh (Beau Starr), Benton continues to assist the brash, flashily-attired Det. Vecchio in his investigations, nearly always getting results despite his bizarre (to say the least methods). Meanwhile, the handsome young mountie becomes the object of attraction to two local females: Elaine Besbriss (Catherine Bruhier), the Precincts pretty civilian aide, and Rays loudmouthed younger sister Francesca (Ramona Milano). As for Ray, he welcomes Bentons input if only because it enables him to one-up a team of rival detectives, Jack Huey (Tony Craig) and Louie Gardino (Daniel Kash), otherwise known as The Duck Boys (Huey and Louie, get it?) Another of Bentons new friends is police medical examiner Dr. Esther Pearson (Deborah Rennard).
A number of recurring characters are introduced this season, including the Fraser familys longtime friend Buck Frobisher (Leslie Nielsen), and endearing pathological liar Ian McDonald (Rino Romano) -- not to mention the ghost of Bentons father (played by Gordon Pinsent), who occasionally materializes in the closet of Bentons office at the Canadian Consulate to offer advice and consul. Although the proceedings are generally lighthearted, things take a somber turn in a two-part episode wherein Benton is reunited with his lost love, career criminal Victor Metcalf (Melina Kanakaredes), who enmeshes the impressionable mountie in an unsavory crime caper that threatens to forever drive a wedge between Benton and Ray. Also making trouble for the partners is relentless States Attorney Louise St. Laurent (Lee Purcell), who has persuaded herself that Fraser and Vecchio are dirty cops. Though canceled by CBS at the end of its first season, Due South was renewed for a second year on Canadian television, courtesy of the CTV network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide