Another entry in our continuing series, Betty Procrastinates
I mean, TV I am watching.

Life! Why should you watch it? Because it is due South for the next generation. NO WAIT. I will demonstrate.


Charlie Crews


He's Benton Fraser + Diefenbaker. He was convicted of multiple homicides, and jailed. His wife divorced him, his partner thought he was guilty, and the police department dramatically failed to rally around one of their own. After 12 years enjoying the hospitality of the state of California, a lawyer took up his case and got the DNA evidence examined. He got a 50 million dollar settlement, and as part of it, is now a detective. In prison, he took up Buddhism to help him with his anger issues. He's kind of bad at it. Mostly, though, he's just quirky; it drives his partner nuts. Since getting out of prison, he picks up women who aren't very choosy, says things you're not supposed to say, eats lots of fruit, and tries to figure out who framed him and why.

Dani Reese


Dani Reese = Ray K. Charlie's current partner, she got assigned the ex-con because she was at the bottom of the office pecking order. In the first season, she wore her hair in a bun whenever she was on duty, and it was wildly unattractive. She developed a cocaine habit while undercover, and is a recovering alcoholic. Her dad's a (white) police officer who Charlie's pretty sure was part of the set-up that sent him to prison. Her mom is Iranian, and Dani speaks Persian. (The actress, Sarah Shahi, is a Spanish-Iranian American.)

Ted Earley


Ted Earley = Sir Not Appearing In due South. Okay, I can't relate him to dS. Anyway. Charlie saved his life in prison, where he was serving time for white-collar crime. Now Ted manages Charlie's enormous bank account, and lives on top of Charlie's garage. He's in love with Charlie's dad's fiancee, played by Christina Hendricks, which makes for all sorts of awkward.

Bobby Starks


Bobby Starks = Constable Turnbull. Sorta. Not quite that bad. Starks is Crews old partner. He didn't provide Charlie with an alibi when he needed one, even though it would have been a lie. Dani holds that against him, and Bobby still feels guilty. Charlie's made detective, and is now Starks' superior officer.

It doesn't have due South's magical realism, but it's written and produced by a guy from The Wire, and is far closer to dS in tone than to The Wire. It mostly manages psychological realism, but has running gags like Charlie's ridiculously expensive cars getting run over every time he buys a new one. The tone is mostly upbeat; they always get their man, not always without some bruises or sacrifices.

It is, as should maybe be obvious, a buddy cop show, with a touch of police procedural. The show has been fairly careful from the start to make sure there's zero sexual tension between Crews and Reese. I'm not sure I've seen a buddy cop show with a mixed-gender pairing before. One of the nice things is that Reese is used to working within a male-dominated environment, but every time someone says something patronizing or sexist about her to Charlie, he looks at them like he walked in on them trying to put a cantaloupe down their pants. Which is to say, mildly startled interest: Charlie's pretty laid back.

I was actually prompted to make this post by the most recent episode which managed a tone of low-key farce and sustained it for two scenes. It was glorious. (Sample dialogue: "Are you wearing glitter?" "That's not your gun.")

One place where the due South metaphor (admittedly strained, I'm sorry) breaks down is that I really don't see a viable slash pairing. Ted lives with Charlie, which ought to make him the best candidate, but I really can't make it work, no matter how I squint. Maybe I've misplaced my slash-goggles.

NBC's Life is in its second season, and if you want to pick it up, I suggest starting from the beginning. It's out on DVD, and although I wouldn't know anything about it, I understand that the kids on the internet these days find all sorts of things just lying about. Also there's NBC's page where they offer episodes that have been aired, which might work for you if you're inside america.
ETA: Also, Hulu, if that works for you.