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In the Heat of the Night

  • 1988–1995
  • 8 seasons
  • Crime, Drama
  • 7.6

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.

Episodes

8 episodes
  1. 1Pilot (1)

    60 minMar 6, 1988

    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.

  2. 2Pilot (2)

    60 minMar 6, 1988

    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.

  3. 3Road Kill

    60 minMar 15, 1988

    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.

  4. 4Fate

    60 minMar 22, 1988

    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.

  5. 5Blind Spot (1)

    60 minMar 29, 1988

    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.

  6. 6Blind Spot (2)

    60 minApr 5, 1988

    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.

  7. 7A Necessary Evil

    60 minApr 12, 1988

    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.

  8. 8...And Then You Die

    60 minMay 3, 1988

    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.

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Availability from JustWatch, via TMDB. Full listing for United States

Series cast

Carroll O'ConnorBill Gillespie146 episodes
Alan AutryBubba Skinner146 episodes
David HartParker Williams146 episodes
Hugh O'ConnorLonnie Jamison146 episodes
Howard RollinsVirgil Tibbs119 episodes
Anne-Marie JohnsonAlthea Tibbs118 episodes
Geoffrey ThorneWilson Sweet118 episodes
Crystal R. FoxLuann Corbin116 episodes
Denise NicholasHarriet DeLong116 episodes
Carl WeathersHampton Forbes28 episodes
Lois NettletonJoanne St. John22 episodes
Afemo OmilamiJimmy Dawes9 episodes
Christian LeBlancJunior Abernathy8 episodes
Burgess MeredithJudge Cully3 episodes
Franklin Cover2 episodes
Bruce Kirby2 episodes
Terry HobbsLaine Paxton / Boy #12 episodes
James Williamson2 episodes

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