Although the tongue-in-cheek cop show Due South was canceled by CBS at the end of its second season, the series remained a fixture of Canada's CTV network for two additional years. It was also kept alive in certain American markets through the magic of off-network syndication. As season three begins, Canadian mountie Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) returns from an above-the-border vacation to his new stamping grounds in Chicago, only to discover that his apartment has been torched and his best friend (and sometimes) partner, Chicago police detective Ray Vecchio, has disappeared (series co-star David Marciano had left the show to bargain for a starring series of his own). It soon develops that he has gone deep undercover on behalf of the A.T.F., posing as mob functionary Armando Logustini.

To cover up Ray's absence, Detective Stanley Kowlaski (Callum Keith Rennie) has been assigned to impersonate Vecchio and to work as Benton's new partner whenever the mountie is inclined to assist in a local investigation. And just like his predecessor, whose life was occasionally complicated by an ex-wife, Stanley Kowalski is saddled with a former spouse of his own, an assistant states attorney named -- you guessed it -- Stella Kowalksi (played by Melissa DeMarco). As for Ray's loudmouthed sister Francesca (Ramona Milano), she has chosen to remain close to her "beloved" Benton Fraser by hiring on as the 27th precinct's new civilian aide, replacing Elaine Besbriss (Catherine Bruhier), who has joined the police force as a full-fledged officer (but not for long: having opted to move from Toronto to L.A., actress Bruhlier would leave the series three episodes into its third season).

Back on the job are Benton's two superiors, Chicago police lieutenant Welsh (Beau Starr) (newly promoted from Captain), and Inspector Margaret Thatcher (Camilla Scott), the constable's boss at the Canadian Consulate. As for Frasier's rival detective Jack Huey (Tony Craig), who in partnership with Det. Louie Gardino had been known as one of the "Duck Boys," he has now latched onto a new partner, Det. Thomas Dewey (Tom Melissis), keeping his Disneyesque nickname intact. (In case you haven't caught on, Huey has gone from Louie to Dewey!) Also added to the cast this season is the 27th precinct's new medical examiner and resident opera buff, (Mort Gustafson). The 13 episodes of Due South's third season were filmed at the same time as the 13 installments of the series' fourth season. Though telecast over a two-year period in Canada, these two seasons were combined into one for American syndication.