In the Heat of the Night

Synopsis

In the Heat of the Night is an American television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name starring Carroll O'Connor as the white police chief William Gillespie, and Howard Rollins as the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995. Its executive producers were Fred Silverman, Juanita Bartlett and Carroll O'Connor. TGG Direct released the first season of the series to DVD on August 28, 2012.

First Air Date: 1988-03-06

Last Air Date: 1995-05-16

Number of Seasons: 8

Number of Episodes: 146

Created By: James Lee Barrett

Networks: NBC, CBS

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Carroll O'Connor as Bill Gillespie
Alan Autry as Bubba Skinner
David Hart as Parker Williams
Hugh O'Connor as Lonnie Jamison
Howard Rollins as Virgil Tibbs
Anne-Marie Johnson as Althea Tibbs
Geoffrey Thorne as Wilson Sweet
Crystal R. Fox as Luann Corbin
Denise Nicholas as Harriet DeLong
Carl Weathers as Hampton Forbes

Seasons

Season 1 (1988) - (8 Episodes)

Season 2 (1988) - (22 Episodes)

Season 3 (1989) - (22 Episodes)

Season 4 (1990) - (22 Episodes)

Season 5 (1991) - (22 Episodes)

Season 6 (1992) - (22 Episodes)

Season 7 (1993) - (24 Episodes)

Season 8 (1994) - (4 Episodes)

Season 1 (1988)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Pilot (1) (1988-03-06)

Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta and joins the police force as chief of detectives.His arrival is met with resistance from police chief Bill Gillespie - who resents having an officer hired without his approval.Virgil has trouble adjusting to the small, antiquated police force.Tibbs' first case is a racially charged murder case that is soon complicated when the suspect is murdered in his cell.
Ep. 2: Pilot (2) (1988-03-06)

The investigation into the brutal murders of a young girl and the suspect in her death, leads Tibbs and Gillespie to the son of one of Sparta's wealthiest and most influential citizens.As they come closer to the truth things become dangerous for Virgil.
Ep. 3: Road Kill (1988-03-15)

The affair between the husband of a wealthy woman and her distant cousin leads to her murder. Virgil immediately suspects the pair.But he has a difficult time persuading Gillespie, who is a long time friend of the man and Bubba, who has been seeing the cousin.Bubba and Virgil clash again and Virgil is frustrated when the Chief rejects his theory about the crime.
Ep. 4: Fate (1988-03-22)

Racial tensions run high when a married white woman has an affair with a black businessman from New York.Meanwhile Virgil is not happy when the Chief enlists his aid in tracking down Bubba's cousin, a suspected moonshiner.
Ep. 5: Blind Spot (1) (1988-03-29)

Virgil refuses to let go of a grudge against a wealthy former classmate who cheated him out of a scholarship.The man has promised city leaders that he will move his business to Sparta,but not all of his business interests are legal.The nephew of an old friend of Gillespie's finds his life in danger after he steals drugs stored in the businessman's mansion.
Ep. 6: Blind Spot (2) (1988-04-05)

An angry Gillespie seeks answers when an old friend is shot.And Virgil narrowly escapes death after trying to ascertain the real reason behind an old adversary's return to Sparta.Nan finds herself in danger after she finds out the truth about her new love.
Ep. 7: A Necessary Evil (1988-04-12)

In this humorous episode Virgil and the Chief arrest a man for bigamy.It soon becomes a polygamy case after an endless parade of wives come to visit their husband.
Ep. 8: ...And Then You Die (1988-05-03)

The Sparta police search for a killer and his girlfriend.But the case becomes personal when they take Althea and the grandson of one of the victims hostage.