Due South is an award-winning Canadian television police drama created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Communications (now part of Alliance Atlantis), first airing in 1994. It followed the adventures of a fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, Constable Benton Fraser, and his half-wolf companion Diefenbaker, living and working in Chicago. Fraser's methods, usually more sensitive and understanding than is typical for police work, gave the series a reputation for well-rounded characters.

Being overly polite, Fraser's probably best known, short quotes were "Thank you kindly", when he would find himself in trouble, an understated "Oh dear", and when faced with contradictory circumstances from other characters usually elicited an all knowing and eloquently stated "Understood". Another humorous angle of the show was that his side-kick wolf, Diefenbaker, though deaf, could read lips.