As Due South moves into syndication territory with 22 new one-hour episodes for season three, PolyGram Television has picked up u.s. rights to the franchise.

The Alliance Communications series, which returns to ctv this fall along with Once A Thief, will be available to u.s. stations on a barter basis with a seven local/ seven national barter split, which allows the local affiliates seven minutes of sales time for every seven minutes of national sell-throughs. Ad sales will be handled by Worldvision Enterprises.

Pointing to the show’s loyal following and family appeal, Matt Cooperstein, exec vp of domestic television for PolyGram, says Due South will perform well either in primetime or as weekend afternoon programming.

Callum Keith Rennie (Hard Core Logo, Double Happiness) is a new addition to the cast for season three while David Marciano, who played the hard-bitten Chicago detective Ray Vecchio for the last two seasons, will be reportedly going undercover, playing only a recurring character rather than costarring. Star Paul Gross is also writing and executive producing this season. AV