In the Heat of the Night (TV series)

In the Heat of the Night
Foreground: Carroll O'Connor; left middle: Howard Rollins; back row left to right: Hugh O'Connor; David Hart; Geoffrey Thorne; Alan Autry
Genre	Police procedural Crime drama
Based on	Characters created by John Ball
Developed by	James Lee Barrett
Starring	Carroll O'Connor Howard Rollins Alan Autry Anne-Marie Johnson David Hart Christian LeBlanc Lois Nettleton Geoffrey Thorne Hugh O'Connor Carl Weathers Crystal R. Fox Denise Nicholas
Theme music composer	Quincy Jones Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Opening theme	performed by Bill Champlin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	142 + 4 TV movies (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Fred Silverman Juanita Bartlett David Moessinger Carroll O'Connor
Production companies	The Fred Silverman Company Jadda Productions Juanita Bartlett Productions MGM/UA Television Productions MGM Television
Original release
Network	NBC (1988–1992) CBS (1992–1995)
Release	March 6, 1988 (1988-03-06) – May 16, 1995 (1995-05-16)

In the Heat of the Night is an American police procedural crime drama television series loosely based on the 1967 film and 1965 novel of the same title. It starred Carroll O'Connor as police chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as police detective Virgil Tibbs, and was broadcast on NBC from March 6, 1988, until May 19, 1992, then on CBS from October 28, 1992, until May 16, 1995. Its executive producers were Fred Silverman, Juanita Bartlett, and O'Connor. This series marked Carroll O'Connor’s return to a series for the first time on NBC and later returned to CBS after Archie Bunker's Place ended back in 1983.

Premise

The show is a sequel to the 1967 film, whose events are said to have occurred "a few years ago" despite the show being set in the 1980s-1990s contemporary to its broadcast. In the premiere episode, Philadelphia homicide detective and criminal profiler Virgil Tibbs has returned to his hometown of Sparta, Mississippi, for his mother's funeral. He is persuaded by Mayor James Findlay to remain in Sparta as Chief of Detectives under Bill Gillespie, the white police chief with whom he fostered a relationship during a previous murder investigation in which he assisted.

Mayor Findlay himself has an ulterior motive for hiring Tibbs: he wants to have some kind of record on civil rights to run for Congress, and hiring Tibbs to integrate the all-white Sparta police department would help to overcome the local squad's reputation of being racist and underskilled — and it also benefits him. Although the team suffers friction over Tibbs' dissatisfaction with the department's limited resources and racial attitudes, and Gillespie is annoyed at the detective's condescending suspicions about his hometown, the two men prove highly effective in enforcing the law.

At the beginning of the seventh season, Tibbs takes a leave of absence, moving to Jackson, Mississippi, to complete his law degree on a compressed schedule. Upon his return to Sparta, he and his wife Althea have separated, and they later divorce. She moves back to Philadelphia with their twins to be near her parents. Through the hard work of Sparta Councilwoman Harriet DeLong, Tibbs is able to retire, although two months shy of the qualifying period, and keep his city pension. He begins practicing law upon accepting a position in Ben Taylor's law office. Rollins' final appearance on the series was February 2, 1994.

Meanwhile, the Sparta city council dismisses Gillespie as chief of police, selecting Hampton Forbes (Carl Weathers) as his replacement and making him the town's first African American to serve in that position. Gillespie finds a new post of equivalent authority as county sheriff. The two senior police officials find that they get along excellently, in both professional and personal spheres.

Themes

The show dealt with a variety of issues, including racism, police brutality, interracial relationships, hate crimes, drug trafficking, drug addiction, alcoholism, AIDS, misogyny, incest, child abuse, sexual harassment, euthanasia, anti-Semitism, political corruption, prostitution, domestic violence, mental disorders, dysfunctional families, suicide, capital punishment, poverty, and drunk driving.

Season-by-season overview

Main article: List of In the Heat of the Night episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired			Rank	Rating
			First aired	Last aired	Network
1	8		March 6, 1988 (1988-03-06)	May 3, 1988 (1988-05-03)	NBC	19	17.0
2	22		December 4, 1988 (1988-12-04)	May 16, 1989 (1989-05-16)		19	17.3
3	22		October 24, 1989 (1989-10-24)	May 8, 1990 (1990-05-08)		17	17.3
4	22		September 18, 1990 (1990-09-18)	April 30, 1991 (1991-04-30)		19	15.2
5	22		October 1, 1991 (1991-10-01)	May 19, 1992 (1992-05-19)		30	13.1
6	22		October 28, 1992 (1992-10-28)	May 12, 1993 (1993-05-12)	CBS	37	11.9
7	24		September 16, 1993 (1993-09-16)	May 11, 1994 (1994-05-11)		63	10.3
TV films	4		October 21, 1994 (1994-10-21)	May 16, 1995 (1995-05-16)		—	—

First season, 1988

The first season was filmed in Hammond, Louisiana. Hammond was selected by executive producer Juanita Bartlett to represent the small southern town of Sparta, Mississippi. The producers had difficulty finding usable filming locations, because other, more modern structures were close enough to be picked up in the images. Eight episodes were filmed—the two-hour pilot movie and six regular one-hour episodes. The series premiered on March 6, 1988, with the season finale airing on May 3, 1988.

Many conflicts arose between Juanita Bartlett and series star Carroll O'Connor over the writing of the series. At first, she allowed him to consult on the series per his contract. After the pilot, however, she ordered scripts from her writers. O'Connor described these as "recycled material from other crime shows". He was disappointed in the writing, feeling that the writers were taking big-city stories and imposing them on a small town. He believed that the key to this show's success was to express its small-town locale and characters through the stories. Scripts would be given to him marked "FINAL: NO REWRITES", but O'Connor often rewrote scripts anyway. This angered the production staff members, which felt they were burning up fax machines with the changes. O'Connor described Bartlett as a very arrogant person. If the show was going to be renewed, then O'Connor was not interested and threatened to quit the show if Bartlett was not replaced as executive producer.

The early episodes were gritty, raw and considered groundbreaking for that time. There was an emphasis on grisly murders or other crimes, rather than the lives of the New South-era characters, for which the series later became known.

Second season, 1988–89

Season 2 premiered on December 4, 1988, due to a writers' strike; the season introduced a new look and set of executive producers, Jeri Taylor and her husband David Moessinger, with on-location shooting moved from Louisiana to Covington, Georgia, which remained as the primary filming location of the show for the duration of the series. The season premiere was aired as a two-hour TV movie originally entitled "The Voodoo Murders", now known in syndication as "Don't Look Back". The plot revolved around a copycat murder of one that Gillespie had investigated 20 years earlier. Also, the Sparta city council was pushing Virgil Tibbs to run as a possible candidate for Chief of Police to replace Gillespie, but Virgil wasn't interested in doing so; regardless, a rumor begins that Tibbs is after Gillespie's job, causing dissension between the two men. Althea, who was a stay-at-home wife in Season 1, is offered a position as a teacher and guidance counselor at local Sparta High School by city Councilman Ted Marcus (Thom Gossom Jr.).

Gone was Christian LeBlanc, who portrayed Officer Junior Abernathy and added were two new regular characters—Joanne St. John (played by Lois Nettleton), the chief's sometime girlfriend and owner of the local diner, The Magnolia Cafe; and rookie officer Wilson Sweet (Geoffrey Thorne), fresh out of the police academy. The season also introduced the first of several new recurring characters, including Dr. Frank Robb, the county coroner (played by veteran actor Dan Biggers). "The Creek" saw the introduction of the first new police character and the second prominent Georgia performer to claim a regular role on the series, Officer Randy Goode (1988–1993) played by Randall Franks, who was cast following the show's move to Covington. "Gunshot", where Virgil experiences guilt and mental trauma after he shoots and kills a female robbery suspect, introduces a character with a criminal past who later becomes invaluable in supplying Gillespie and the Sparta P.D. with information, Jimmy Dawes (Afemo Omilami).

Plots in this season included Gillespie witnessing the execution of a man whom he arrested years ago, an episode that Carroll O'Connor wrote himself under the pseudonym Matt Harris ("A Trip Upstate").

During the filming of the episode "Walkout", Carroll O'Connor began to experience fatigue. It was discovered that he needed sextuple heart bypass surgery, due to years of heavy smoking. During the last four episodes of the season, Joe Don Baker was brought in as Tom Dugan, a replacement for Chief Gillespie, who was said to be away at a police training conference at Quantico. The episodes where Gillespie was away were "Fifteen Forever", "Ladybug, Ladybug", "The Pig Woman of Sparta" and "Missing". Dugan was appointed acting chief by Councilwoman White, but he was actually working undercover for the FBI in an attempt to stop the assassination of a civil rights preacher during a visit to the town by a white supremacist group (that is not revealed until the Season 3 episode "Anniversary"). The season finale "Missing" has the chief being kidnapped upon his return to Sparta by two men in pig masks, and the police and the FBI are trying to locate him and those responsible. O'Connor wanted the chief to undergo heart surgery in the storyline, but the husband and wife producers came up with this storyline instead. It was the final straw in a long line of complaints; these producers were fired at the end of the season, with O'Connor becoming the executive producer for season three and beyond.

When Taylor and Moessinger decided to do the show, Taylor was quoted, "I was one of those in the '60's that was out marching for civil rights," and "I was one of those who thought the major work had all been done. When we decided to do the show, we took research trips to the South, and we saw that there had been an enormous amount of change. We came back with a renewed vigor but also with the realization that there is still a lot more to be done. There is still deeply entrenched racism. And addressing that became a much larger element in our thinking about the show."

"What makes race relations a constant in our show is the two lead characters—one is white and one is black," Moessinger said. "Whether they are angry at each other, whether they're happy or sad, we're showing the interaction of two men who are trying to do the best in life. If we never put one race issue into it, if we never said one word about it, the message is there because it's showing how people ought to interrelate, how they ought to work together, how they ought to get along."

Third season, 1989–90

In the third season, Carroll O'Connor took complete control of the show, after firing husband and wife executive producing team David Moessinger and Jeri Taylor. From that point on, he brought aboard writers and showrunners who shared his vision of where he wanted the series to go.

Althea Tibbs deals with the effects and aftermath of rape in the explosive season premiere episode titled "Rape". Upon returning home from the grocery store one afternoon after school, Althea is ambushed and raped in her kitchen by Sparta High School's new music teacher, Stephen Ainslee (played by guest star Ken Marshall). Althea, Ainslee's boss, had an uneasy relationship with him from the beginning because he couldn't handle her authority, and it culminated in the attack. Althea and Virgil are frustrated trying to bring Ainslee to justice because new district attorney Gerard Darnelle (Wilbur Fitzgerald) doesn't have enough evidence to prosecute him, especially a positive ID (Ainslee blindfolded Althea with her scarf during the attack, so she couldn't see his face, but she recognized his voice), and Ainslee's wife Linda (Stacy Ray) provides him with an false alibi saying that he was at home with her at the time that Althea was attacked. After Chief Gillespie calls Linda out for her complicity, Linda finally comes forward and implicates her husband. Ainslee invades Virgil and Althea's home during this time and attempts to attack Althea again, but Althea successfully defends herself and Ainslee is arrested.

The second part of the Season 2 finale, "Missing", is resumed in Episode 6, entitled "Anniversary" – a decision made by O'Connor that displeased the network because the episodes were not shown in chronological order. The Season 2 cliffhanger depicted Gillespie being kidnapped and Dugan murdered; with the displacement of the episodes, it was as if none of that ever happened. O'Connor selected "Rape" to kick off Season 3 instead because he thought it was more powerful and would attract higher ratings.

The character of Joanne St. John was eliminated to make room for Sparta city Councilwoman Harriet DeLong (Denise Nicholas) as Chief Gillespie's future love interest, first as a recurring character, then later, as a main cast member. An attractive divorcée, Harriet was college-educated (an Alpha Kappa Alpha member), outspoken, and brimming with attitude, which was a turn-off to Gillespie at first and the two of them did not get along.

In "First Girl", Gillespie hires Christine Rankin, Sparta's first black policewoman. She is killed her first day on duty in a shootout with a drug dealer and murder suspect, causing Gillespie despair and guilt. As a result, he is temporarily suspended from his duties as chief of police pending an investigation and intent on seeking out Rankin's killer. Her replacement was Officer LuAnn Corbin, played by Crystal R. Fox. LuAnn would remain a prominent character throughout the rest of the series, although Fox was listed in the ending credits as a guest star until season seven where she finally appeared in the opening credits. Hiring LuAnn opens the door for more policewomen to join the force; Officer Dee Shepard (Dee Shaw) is hired later in the season.

In the two-part season finale, "Citizen Trundel" (written by O'Connor, Cynthia Deming, and William J. Royce), Harriet DeLong's sister Natalie is murdered by order of her secret lover and the married father of her nine-year-old son, millionaire businessman V.J. "Vidge" Trundel. The situation causes Harriet anguish, rage, and frustration, not only because of Natalie's murder but because Chief Gillespie is reluctant to pursue the powerful Trundel as a suspect. These are the first episodes in which we see Bill and Harriet's relationship blossom. During this period, he is able to see beyond her hardened exterior and finds a vulnerable and sensitive woman behind it; she discovers his compassionate side. From this point on, a camaraderie is formed between the two.

This story arc was of special significance to series co-star Denise Nicholas, who played Harriet DeLong. Ten years earlier, her real-life sister had been murdered and the culprit had never been caught. When Carroll O'Connor approached Nicholas about the storyline, it had upset her greatly and she had to write him a note explaining the situation, as he was unaware of the circumstances. He offered to have her not appear in the episode, but she chose to do so to bring closure for her and her family. She was able to channel her unresolved grief into the role. Only O'Connor and director Leo Penn knew the truth during filming.

Rollins' substance abuse problems

During the back half of season 3, Howard Rollins took six weeks off when he entered a drug and alcohol rehab program to battle his addiction issues. He missed five episodes: "King's Ransom", "Triangle", "Hello In There", "December Days", and "An Angry Woman". MGM worked around his rehab schedule. Episodes were not necessarily aired in the order they were filmed, which explains why Tibbs was present one week and not the next. To explain his absence, he was said to be in New Orleans working for the FBI. He considered suicide shortly before Christmas 1989, prompting his stay in rehab. Carroll O'Connor threatened to sue a tabloid which published a story saying that MGM and Carroll had fired Rollins for being absent from the set due to his problems. Denise Nicholas, who played Harriet DeLong, said "Carroll set the standard for loyalty. If he liked you, he really liked you and would be there for you."

Fourth season, 1990–91

Cynthia Deming and William J. Royce were made main story editors.

The season opens with a two-hour movie entitled "Brotherly Love" and the birth of Virgil and Althea's twins. While Althea is waiting to go into labor, Tibbs' friend and ex-colleague from the Philadelphia P.D. is found dead, and it's at first labeled as a suicide. Tibbs heads up to the big city to attend his funeral, only to learn his friend's death was not by his own hand, but murder. Tibbs soon recognizes there is corruption going on within the police department, and his friend was framed for the murder of a drug dealer. In the process of trying to clear his friend's name, he first becomes a target, then framed for murder himself. Chief Gillespie travels to Philly to get Virgil out of jail, help him solve the mystery of what happened to his friend and seek justice for him, expose the corrupt officers and make it back home to Sparta in time for the twins' birth. William and Sarah Tibbs were welcomed into the world on September 18, 1990.

Other stories include Bubba going to Los Angeles to extradite a Sparta resident responsible for a fire that killed two people, which was actually the first of two backdoor pilots for a series that featured Alan Autry, but neither were picked up by the network.

Fifth season, 1991–92

The fifth season begins with the revelation that Chief Gillespie has a 19-year-old daughter by the name of Lana Farren, played by Christine Elise (formerly of Beverly Hills, 90210). The chief is now good friends with her mother, Georgia Farren, played by actress Stella Stevens. Lana was conceived during a period where her mother was separated from her husband, and she and Gillespie had an affair. However, she was never divorced from her husband, Ken Farren.

In the episode "The More Things Change", Gillespie and Harriet share their first kiss after he drives her home after attending a party, and he finally reveals his affections for her. They both lament the very likely possibility that a relationship between the two of them would not be accepted by most in Sparta.

Other storylines include Sweet's quest to discover the truth about the murder of his grandfather in 1948 and those responsible for it (a story loosely based on the murder of Medgar Evers, "Sweet, Sweet Blues") and racists sabotaging a celebration honoring a Sparta civil rights pioneer in "Odessa", the first of six episodes written by Denise Nicholas. She enjoyed her role as Harriet but was bothered by the show's lack of black writers and complained about it to Carroll O'Connor, who admitted that she was right. He asked Nicholas to write a script, which she did. When she submitted it, O'Connor liked it so much that he encouraged her to write others for the series.

In the two-part season finale "Sanctuary" and "The Law on Trial", Sheriff McComb has Gillespie and Tibbs charged with obstruction and harboring a fugitive after an escaped prisoner -- a Salvadoran immigrant seeking asylum -- is given sanctuary in a monastery and the two don't arrest him when he refuses to give himself up. The prisoner is later shot and killed in a standoff with the sheriff's department. Father DiMarco's heartfelt summation to the jury contributes to the case being dismissed (though that is not revealed until the start of Season 6). Between court appearances, Harriet pays Gillespie an inconspicuous visit and the two share a tender and romantic moment.

The conflict between Sheriff McComb and Chief Gillespie lingers throughout the following season, affecting every crossover dealing with subsequent interactions between McComb's deputies and Gillespie's officers. It isn't until the arrival of Chief Hampton Forbes (Carl Weathers) in Season 7 that we see Sheriff McComb and Chief Gillespie as friends again.

The episode and the season end with Gillespie and Tibbs awaiting the verdict in their respective residences on the evening the case is given to the jury. At the end of the original and final broadcast on NBC, it was revealed that the jury couldn't reach a verdict, a mistrial is declared and the two men are freed. Bill and Harriet spend the night together for the first time.

Sixth season, 1992–93

At the beginning of Season 6, In the Heat of the Night moved from NBC to CBS. It was not publicly known at the time when Season 5 ended whether or not the show would continue. NBC had decided not to renew the series, although the ratings were still respectable and there were still some open-ended plots that hadn't been resolved. A deal was made with rival network CBS to keep the show on the air. Originally, CBS opted to pick up the series for only a set of six two-hour movies. However, it was eventually picked up for a full 22-episode order.

The first two episodes of the season see the secret romance between Gillespie and DeLong intensify. They frequently meet in a studio apartment that doubles as Harriet's art studio. In the midst of all this, Harriet's son Eugene is a witness to a drive-by shooting involving rival drug gangs.

Other highlights from the season include a faded country music singer (Robert Goulet) who ends up committing murder; the reconciliation between Gillespie and his estranged daughter Lana; and a two-part episode directed by Larry Hagman involves a white supremacist politician whose visit to Sparta has a couple of ulterior motives, including aspirations for a presidential run ("The Leftover Man"). Burgess Meredith (in one of his last acting roles) also appears as an eccentric judge overseeing a case (he would return for a brief cameo in Season 7.)

The season ends with Bill and Harriet forced to confront the impending execution of Harriet's ex-husband and Eugene's disapproval of their relationship.

Howard Rollins' firing

Rollins was dropped from the show due to health reasons plus three outstanding warrants in Rockdale County and the city of Covington, GA. He was replaced for season seven by Carl Weathers. Filming began on April 28, 1993. Rollins had not been seen on the set since January 1993, when season six wrapped. Despite numerous attempts by the media to contact Rollins, who was believed to be living in New York City, only series star Carroll O'Connor was in contact with Rollins during this period. It was hoped that Rollins would get his legal and personal issues resolved and return to the series — but unfortunately, that was not the case.

After season 6, Anne-Marie Johnson and Geoffrey Thorne left the series alongside Rollins. Rollins would return occasionally as a guest star, while Johnson took a starring role on the final season of Fox's sketch comedy series In Living Color.

Thorne left to pursue a career as a novelist and screenwriter; his character simply vanished from the series without any explanation.

Seventh season, 1993–94

Season 7 opens with Bill Gillespie being forced out of office and former Memphis, Tennessee Police Department Inspector Hampton Forbes (Carl Weathers) is hired as the new police chief by the city council. After nearly three decades on the Sparta police force, Gillespie does not receive a new contract from the council because his romance with Harriet is now out in the open, although other excuses are made for his dismissal. He seems to be accepting of the outcome, while Harriet doesn't hesitate to show her fury over the decision. The transition from Gillespie being in charge to Forbes taking over is slightly uneasy at the very start, but soon things smooth out.

However, Gillespie is soon appointed as the acting Sheriff of Newton County when Nathan McComb suffers a heart attack and is too ill to continue his duties. This new appointment for Gillespie angers several on the city council. They want an investigation, which is upsetting and hurtful for Harriet.

Other cases involve a nine-year-old girl being killed because of a drunk driver (Hagman directed), the return of Parker's stepfather, Roy Eversole (Pat Hingle, first seen in Season 6) and his lady friend Miss Roda (Anne Meara). Gillespie must once again confront his racist past when a new synagogue moves into Sparta and the rabbi (Jerry Stiller) detests Gillespie, who in the 1960s was serving as an officer on the Sparta Police, for his failure to oppose the then serving anti-Semitic Sparta police chief, who was then Gillespie's boss, and who refused to investigate the burning of the local synagogue back in the 1960s. Lana Farren also makes one final appearance as Bill's daughter in the Hagman-directed episode "A Love Lost", in which he must protect her from a former boyfriend who is involved in a gun-running scheme with someone in Sparta.

Virgil Tibbs returns from Jackson with his juris doctor — which explains his absence – in his new capacity as attorney in three episodes ("Virgil Tibbs: Attorney At Law", "Good Cop, Bad Cop", "Conspiracy of One") and assists the Sparta P.D. with several cases after having moved into Ben Taylor's law office. Virgil reveals to Gillespie in "Virgil Tibbs: Attorney At Law" that Althea has left him and took their twins back home to Philadelphia to live, fed up with her life in Sparta and traumatized from all that had happened to her while living there. She didn't want to make the marriage work and later files for divorce, which a heartbroken Virgil does not contest, although he has difficulty accepting his new status as a divorced man. The episode "Conspiracy of One", where Virgil suspects that one of his law firm's clients orchestrated an "accident" which resulted in his spouse's death, marks Howard Rollins' final appearance on the show (air date February 2, 1994).

In the episode "Ches and the Grand Lady", Bobby Short reprises his role as Ches Collins, the blues musician from "Sweet, Sweet Blues" in Season 5. The episode also guest stars Jean Simmons as the dying grand dame of Sparta who also happens to be Ches's old flame and the overbearing great-aunt of Lonnie Jamison. Harriet's son Eugene once again finds himself at odds with the police, endangering his parole trying to help a friend. Maybelle Chesboro (played by Elizabeth Ashley), the ex-madam, returns. (The role of Maybelle was initially played by Diane Ladd in Season 3's "Home Is Where The Heart Is".) She has returned to operate a legal phone sex business.

Finally, in "Dangerous Engagement", Gillespie and DeLong tie the knot at the same sanctuary involved in the "Sanctuary" case from Season 5. Chief Forbes serves as best man.

The season and the TV series wraps up with a two-hour movie of the week, "Give Me Your Life", starring Peter Fonda as Marcantony Appfel, leader of a religious cult in which the sexual abuse of children is rumored to have occurred. The story (by O'Connor and written by Cynthia Deming & William J. Royce) is loosely based on the real-life drama in Waco, Texas, in 1993 with the cult leader David Koresh and his followers.

TV movies and Hugh O'Connor's death

Four made-for-television movies were produced during the 1994–95 season, which was supposedly the continuation of the series. Once released on DVD, these combined movies were considered the eighth season of the show. The movies were:

• A Matter of Justice
• Who Was Geli Bendl? (directed by Larry Hagman)
• By Duty Bound
• Grow Old Along with Me

Carroll's son and series cast member Hugh O'Connor died by suicide nearly two months before the fourth film aired, having been struggling with a substance abuse issue since his teen years which culminated in his demise. When the film was broadcast in its original, two-hour format, a black screen was added in between the intro tag and the opening title; it read "In memory of Hugh O'Connor: 1962–1995".

Writing staff

• Carroll O'Connor (1989–95) as Matt Harris
• Mark Rodgers (1989–90)
• David Moessinger (1988–89)
• Jeri Taylor (1988–89)
• Edward Deblasio (1989–90)
• Nancy Bond (1988–90)
• William J Royce (1989–94)
• Cynthia Deming (1990–94)
• Robert Bielak (1990–91)
• Mitch Schneider (1990–94)
• Joe Gannon (1991–94)
• Denise Nicholas (1992–95)
• Terri Erwin (1989–91)
• Bill Taub (1991)

Cast and characters

Main

Actor	Role
Carroll O'Connor	Starred in the lead role of William O. "Bill" Gillespie, a tough but honorable small city police chief. Initially somewhat resentful of Virgil Tibbs, Gillespie later becomes very close to Virgil and the rest of the Tibbs family. Their relationship in the TV series is much less adversarial than it is in the film version. For the first six seasons, he is the chief of the Sparta Police Department until the city council fires him at the beginning of the 7th season. He becomes interim County Sheriff after the previous Sheriff becomes too ill to continue his duties. A World War II veteran, he identifies himself as serving with a black man in the 227th Military Police (it is assumed the 227th was a colored unit and Gillespie was the commanding officer) and has a penchant for wearing high-powered sidearms such as the Colt Python and later a brushed chrome Desert Eagle. Gillespie was married at one time to Anna, his Italian war bride whom he brought home from his WWII service in Italy; both she and their son would die in childbirth. He has an older daughter, Lana, played by Christine Elise. Gillespie eventually falls in love with and marries Harriet DeLong, the much younger black city Councilwoman. Throughout the series run, O'Connor was one of the actors to appear in every episode of the series on both networks (NBC and CBS), with the exception of four shows near the end of the 1988–89 season that he missed while recovering from open-heart surgery.
Howard Rollins	Starred in the lead role of Detective/Chief of Detectives/Captain Virgil Tibbs. Unlike the movie where he was just a visitor passing through, in the series, Virgil is rewritten as a Sparta native who later moves north and becomes a police detective in Philadelphia, PA. He returns to Sparta after the death of his mother and is offered a job as Chief of Detectives and the rank of Captain with the city police department. A meticulous and highly intelligent man, Tibbs initially has a supercilious attitude towards those in the department and frequently criticizes the force for not being more contemporary or tech-savvy. He and Gillespie butt heads initially, but soon become close friends; Gillespie becomes godfather to Virgil and Althea's twins. Tibbs also clashed with Bubba early in the series, but after helping Bubba clear his name during a case where he is falsely accused of rape, they become good friends, as well. Though some city council members want to make him chief, Tibbs firmly rebuffs their offers, preferring to work with Gillespie. A sensitive young man, he expresses himself openly when something affects him. After continued legal problems, Rollins was dropped from the series in 1993, and Tibbs was written out of the series as having left the community following his graduation from law school and becoming an attorney in private practice. Rollins would return as a guest star several times during the 7th season in his new profession, attorney at law.
Alan Autry	First cast as Officer, then later Sergeant, Lieutenant, and finally Captain V. L. "Bubba" Skinner. Bubba is initially portrayed as a redneck. Intimidating and physically powerful, he is never afraid to use force when needed, but despite his rough exterior, he is a good man. He is also a sort of ladies man around Sparta, as he always seemed to have a new girlfriend. He is known to turn female heads, including that of Althea Tibbs, who refers to him as a "hunk". Bubba deeply resents Virgil's presence on the police force at first, clashing with him on several occasions. He eventually became close friends with the Tibbs family, particularly after Virgil helped clear his name in a false allegation of rape. As the series progresses, Bubba is shown to be a brave and honorable man who is more complex and intelligent than people give him credit for. During the series, Bubba becomes more racially tolerant, referring to bigots and racists as "knotheads". Bubba is from a large family and is shown several times during the series to be an expert shot with a rifle. When the Sparta police need a sniper (such as when Captain Tibbs's wife Althea is taken hostage in the episode "...And Then You Die") it is Skinner who takes the shot with a scoped rifle kept in the trunk of his squad car. Bubba carries a Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver in his belt holster like most of the other Sparta police officers. In Season 1, Bubba's rank seemed to be patrolman but is never explicitly stated. By Season 2's premiere, he is a Sergeant. Eventually, he rises to the rank of Captain before Gillespie leaves the Sparta Police. In Season 5, it is revealed that Bubba's first and middle initials are V. L. Bubba also always wears "white socks" with his uniform. Bubba usually is the one who is asked to arrest the tougher suspects due to his large size and immense strength.
Anne-Marie Johnson	Starred for six seasons as Virgil's wife, teacher and counselor Althea Tibbs. She herself was born and raised in Philadelphia and had never been south before the death of her mother-in-law. As the daughter of a retired police detective, Althea's life in Sparta is difficult: she is held captive by a murderous fugitive at the end of the first season, terrorized by an unstable ex-boyfriend and a racist mob at her home in Season 2, raped by her school's music teacher in the Season 3 premiere, and later suffered a mental breakdown after witnessing the suicide of one of her students. She is a caring individual who wants to assist her students and those in her community. At the end of Season 3, she announces her pregnancy, something she and Virgil had been trying for quite some time, and in the Season 4 premiere, it is revealed that not only is she pregnant, but pregnant with twins. She has a close father/daughter-type relationship with Chief Gillespie, and supposedly has a close friendship with Bubba Skinner, who discovers that she had been raped and transports her to the hospital. Althea did not reappear for the 7th season, and her character was written out as Althea had been separated from Virgil and moved back to Pennsylvania.
Lois Nettleton	Played Joanne St. John from 1988 to 1989. She is the owner of the Magnolia Cafe, a popular eatery in Sparta (as seen in Season 2's opening) and Gillespie's love interest. After it is revealed that Joanne was once a prostitute, she and Gillespie broke up and she eventually left Sparta out of shame, although she does appear in several episodes afterward, and was in the Season 2 finale with Gillespie when he was kidnapped. She is briefly mentioned in the Season 3 episode, "Anniversary", but does not appear.
David Hart	Portrayed Officer Parker Williams. A very perceptive character, he genuinely loves the people of Sparta, whom he has sworn to serve and protect, and he often senses when someone is hurting. Like his movie counterpart Courtney, he habitually eavesdrops on the conversations of others. Parker knows everybody in town and is able to get through to them because of his kindness. Parker generally sits behind the dispatcher's desk, handling the telephone and radio, although he is also assigned to patrol duty. In 1994, he rises to the rank of Senior Sergeant. Parker is a Vietnam veteran, as explained in the episode "My Name is Hank". As the comic relief of the show, Parker always has a Mason jar of sweet tea on his desk, including when he is at the Tibbs' house for Christmas in the episode "Blessings", holding his tea jar with a Christmas bow stuck on it. He also has the distinction as the only cast member who never missed an episode during the entire run of the series.
Christian LeBlanc	Cast as Junior Abernathy, a patrolman seen only during Season 1. A young and inexperienced policeman who often is chastised by Detective Tibbs or Chief Gillespie for not knowing proper police procedure, he often rises to the occasion to assist in arrests or at other incidents in Sparta.
Geoffrey Thorne	Joined the cast as Officer Wilson Sweet in the second season as the cocky, young rookie fresh out of the police academy. Aside from Tibbs, Sweet is one of the first black men to join Sparta's police force. He is very focused and detailed about what his goals were, as he spoke quite often of going to law school. He loves to read, mostly on topics that can assist him with his work as a police officer, as well as African American literature. With Virgil Tibbs as a reluctant mentor, he is well liked and a clever and driven asset to the department. A number of the racially conscious storylines on the show involved his character. His ambition is to rise in the ranks of the Sparta police force and become Sparta's first black Police Chief, a part which was eventually played by Carl Weathers. By Season 5, he had been promoted to the rank of Sergeant. His character was eliminated when Thorne chose to exit the show after the sixth season ended and his departure is never mentioned or explained.
Hugh O'Connor	Recurring Season 1, made a main cast member in Season 2. As Lonnie Jamison, he is an officer and later, acting investigator on the Sparta police force. Lonnie eventually rises to the rank of Lieutenant and Acting Chief of Detectives. A very capable officer who takes his job seriously, he usually has a serious and straightforward personality, with a dry humor that always fits the moment, and is an amiable and friendly person overall. One of the many facets of Lonnie's character is a fierce, undying loyalty to his friends, primarily displayed over several episodes as Lonnie's friendship with Harriet DeLong's son Eugene. Lonnie is Eugene's track team coach at Sparta High, and it is Lonnie Jamison who is able to get through to the young man when Eugene's father is being tried for murder, episode "No Other Road". Lonnie is a crack shot with a rifle and is often selected by Chief Gillespie to handle a situation requiring a long range rifle shot, as in episodes "My Name is Hank", "An Eye for An Eye", and "Crackdown". Along with Bubba, the Sparta Police has a very lethal sniper team.
Carl Weathers	Joined the cast in the final season as Police Chief Hampton Forbes. Handpicked by the Sparta city council to lead the department after the controversial firing of Bill Gillespie, Forbes is the first black chief of the department. He recently retired from the Memphis, TN, police department, after 20 years, serving in one of the four police districts in the city of Memphis as an inspector. Forbes becomes friends with Gillespie and often works closely with him when Gillespie becomes acting county sheriff.
Crystal R. Fox	Cast as Officer LuAnn Corbin in Season 3. After the first black woman to join the force, Officer Christine Rankin, died in the line of duty on her first day on the job, Corbin is recruited as her replacement. LuAnn often drove Gillespie around and was the go-between for him and Harriet before the two of them went public with their relationship. LuAnn was also a singer and was given several opportunities to showcase her voice on the series, in such episodes such as "Odessa" and "Singin' The Blues".
Denise Nicholas	First joined the cast in a recurring role in 1989 as Sparta City Councilwoman Harriet DeLong. A divorcée, her relationship with Chief Gillespie is deeply adversarial in the beginning, and the two clash often when she first appears on the show. Gillespie once referred to her as "The Dragon Lady". However, during the series, Harriet sees Gillespie's softer, more caring side and begins to think more fondly of him. By the time Denise Nicholas becomes a series regular, Harriet and Gillespie are romantically involved, greatly upsetting her son, Eugene, and others in Sparta who are opposed to interracial relationships. She is close friends with Virgil and is also a gifted artist. In the two-part episode, "Citizen Trundel", Harriet's sister, Natalie is the mistress of conniving millionaire businessman, V.J. Trundel, who later has her murdered. They have a son named Eric from their illicit affair. Harriet eventually gains custody of him after Trundel deliberately crashes his private airplane after a confrontation about the murder with Gillespie. Emily Trundel, V.J.'s estranged widow, attempts to gain custody of Eric two seasons later, but only succeeds in gaining visitation rights, something Harriet deeply opposes.
Randall Franks	Played Officer Randy Goode (Season 2–6)
C.C. Taylor	Officer Charlie Peake (Season 3–8)
Dee Shaw	Officer Dee Shepard (Season 3–8)
Harvey E. Lee Jr.	Played Officer Ken Covey. (Season 6–8)
Mark Johnson	Played Officer Luke Everett. (Season 6–8)

Recurring

Actor	Role
Thom Gossom Jr.	Ted Marcus, Sparta city councilman and attorney (Seasons 2–8)
Tonea Stewart	Virgil's widowed maternal aunt Etta Kibbee. She resides with Virgil and Althea Tibbs and is caretaker of their twins, William Calvin and Sarah Ruth. (Seasons 4–7) Prior to her role as Kibbee, Stewart also appeared on the Season 2 episode "Prisoners" as Ms. Gray, the mother of slain prison victim, Eric Gray.
Dan Biggers	Dr. Frank "Doc" Robb, physician and medical examiner (Season 2–8)
Wilbur Fitzgerald	District Attorney Gerard Darnelle (Seasons 3–8)
Rugg Williams	Eugene Glendon, Harriet DeLong's teenage son (Seasons 4–7)
Afemo Omilami	Jimmy Dawes, ex-con who becomes a police informant (Seasons 2–6). He was also cast in a Season 7 episode in a different role as an Atlanta detective.
Christine Elise	Lana Farren, Gillespie's daughter by Georgia Farren as the result of a long-ago love affair. They had no relationship while Lana was growing up. (Seasons 5–7)
Bob Penny	Louis Alvin Epp, corrupt realtor and attorney in Sparta with mob connections (Seasons 3–6)
Scott Brian Higgs	Randy Calhoun, Lana's quirky and odd neighbor, although he appeared on the show as far back as Season 3, long before the storyline about Gillespie having an illegitimate daughter was created. (Seasons 3–7)
Wallace Merck	Earl "Holly" Colmer Sr., councilman and nemesis to Bill Gillespie, Virgil Tibbs and Harriet DeLong (Seasons 5–8)
Karen Carlson	Sarah Hallisey, attorney (Seasons 5–7)
Adair Simon	Emily Trundel, wife of millionaire V.J. Trundel, who impregnated Harriet DeLong's younger sister Natalie during an illicit affair. (Seasons 3, 5)
Burgess Meredith	Judge Cully (Seasons 6–7)
Stuart Culpepper	Judge Colter, Judge Henry Sims (Seasons 3, 7). He also appeared in other episodes during the run of the series playing other characters.
Joe Don Baker	Captain Tom Dugan, a retired Mississippi Highway Patrol police captain, Dugan appeared on the last four episodes of the second season. Baker was brought in as a stand-in for Carroll O'Connor while O'Connor was recovering from open-heart surgery. Dugan is placed in the department by the FBI to uncover a plot by a white supremacist group to assassinate a civil rights leader during his visit to Sparta. Dugan is murdered by these same white supremacists at the end of the second season. Dugan's godson, who had become involved with these people, later agrees to help the police. (Season 2)
Ron Culbreth	Sheriff Nathan McComb, the former Newton County sheriff. Culbreth appeared on nine episodes as Sheriff McComb. In the 7th season, McComb becomes too ill to continue his duties, and Gillespie is appointed as acting sheriff in his place. Prior to his appearances as McComb, Culbreth also appeared on the episodes "The Hammer and the Glove" and "Missing" in guest roles. (Seasons 3–7)
Pat Hingle	Roy Eversole, Parker Williams' step-father. Hot tempered, Eversole had a great deal of difficulty maintaining steady employment. He was once a murder suspect after getting into a heated argument with a former employer, who is subsequently found dead a short time later. (Seasons 6–7)
Fran Bennett	Virgil's maternal aunt Ruda Gibson (Seasons 4–6)
John Wesley	Vic Glendon, Harriet DeLong's ex-husband and Eugene's father (Seasons 4–6)
Christopher Allport	District Attorney Myron Dutton (Season 2)
Dennis Lipscomb	Sparta Mayor Jim Findlay (Season 1)
Michael Burgess	Tyrell Gibson, Virgil Tibbs' younger cousin and Ruda Gibson's son (Season 4–6)
Maureen Dowdell	Nurse Tracey Boggs, Bubba's girlfriend. Also played Nurse Jill and Lydia Kinsey. (Seasons 5–8)
Jen Harper	Dr. Winona Day (Seasons 5–7)
Christopher Lobban	Bobby Johnson, a youngster that Gillespie takes in when one of his brothers murders the other, and his grief-stricken mother leaves Sparta and eventually passes away. Bobby wants to remain in Sparta so he can attend Sparta High once he's old enough. Althea Tibbs is a teacher and counselor at the high school and it was Bobby's slain brother's wish that Bobby be mentored by her. Althea initially wants Bobby to move in with her and Virgil, but Virgil is not sold on the idea. To quell the tensions between the Tibbses over this, Gillespie volunteers to keep the boy in his home. When Gillespie moves into his new home in Season 7, Bobby moves along with him. (Seasons 4–7)

Guest stars

During the series' 7-season run, many actors and actresses have made guest appearances, and others were newcomers who went on to become well-known. Some of those appearing in In the Heat of the Night episodes were:

• Claude Akins
• Ed Ames
• Mitchell Anderson
• Alan Arbus
• Elizabeth Ashley
• Dana Barron
• Jennifer Bassey
• Michael Beck
• Jason Beghe
• Vanessa Bell Calloway
• Paul Benjamin
• James Best
• Taurean Blacque
• Larry Black
• Susan Blakely
• Wayne Brady
• Randy Brooks
• Tony Burton
• Thomas Jefferson Byrd
• Martha Byrne
• John Davis Chandler
• Byron Cherry
• Kevin Conway
• Franklin Cover
• Maury Covington
• Nicolas Cowan
• Gary Crosby
• Ken Curtis
• John Diehl
• Art Evans
• Frances Fisher
• Louise Fletcher
• Peter Fonda
• Jeffrey Buckner Ford
• Don Galloway
• Willie Gault
• Marla Gibbs
• Thomas Ian Griffith
• Walton Goggins
• Robert Goulet
• J.D. Hall
• Mariska Hargitay
• Kim Hawthorne
• Tiger Haynes
• Tippi Hedren
• Earl Holliman
• Michael Horton
• Iman
• Adrienne-Joi Johnson
• Laura Johnson
• Mickey Jones
• Renée Jones
• Stacy Keach
• Ken Kercheval
• Bruce Kirby
• Diane Ladd
• Ted Lange
• Mitchell Laurance
• Kenny Leon
• Ketty Lester
• Geoffrey Lewis
• Josh Lucas (as Joshua Lucas)
• Marc Macaulay
• Ted Manson
• Ken Marshall
• Rod Masterson
• Whitman Mayo
• Richard McKenzie
• Bill McKinney
• Stephen Nichols
• Gail O'Grady
• Lisa Pelikan
• Eric Pierpoint
• Clifton Powell
• Francesco Quinn
• Logan Ramsey
• Lisa Rieffel
• Mark Rolston
• Stephen Root
• William Sadler
• George C. Scott
• Joe Seneca
• Craig Shoemaker
• Bobby Short
• Sonny Shroyer
• Jean Simmons
• Michael Spound
• Marco St. John
• Stella Stevens
• Mel Stewart
• Jerry Stiller
• Barbara Stock
• Meshach Taylor
• Christopher Templeton
• Ernest Lee Thomas
• Melvin Van Peebles
• Jordan Vaughn
• Nana Visitor
• Lou Walker
• Michael Warren
• Darnell Williams
• Gary Anthony Williams
• Traci Wolfe

Future Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman stars, Helene Udy, William Shockley and Chad Allen made guest appearances. Future Desperate Housewives star Doug Savant and veteran actor Kevin McCarthy also made their guest appearances on the two-part pilot episode, as well as O. J. Simpson (whom NBC executives originally wanted for the role of Virgil Tibbs, but O'Connor selected Rollins), who made a cameo appearance in Season 2. William Schallert, who played Mayor Schubert in the original 1967 film, also made an appearance on the show in Season 4.

Broadcast history

The series debuted as a midseason replacement for the NBC series J.J. Starbuck, premiering on March 6, 1988. The series ran on the network until May 19, 1992, then was shown on CBS until its finale after an eighth season, on May 16, 1995.

Locations

Like the original movie, the television series also took place in a fictionalized version of Sparta, Mississippi. While there is a real Sparta, the version of Sparta shown on television is very different from the real town. For example, the TV Sparta is situated along Interstate 20, while the real town is nowhere near any interstate. During the first season, Hammond, Louisiana was the site of the show's production. In the second season, the show was moved to Georgia, to an area east of Atlanta and it remained there for the rest of its run. The principal area of Sparta was in fact downtown Covington, Georgia. Rural scenes were filmed in a wide surrounding area, in the Georgia counties of Newton (where Covington is located), Rockdale, Walton, Morgan, and Jasper. Decatur in Dekalb County was used as a stand-in for an episode as the Mississippi Capital city of Jackson, and Atlanta itself was used in one episode, in which Bubba worked on a case there. In fact, during the series' run, many of the cast members had homes in the area and were often spotted in local restaurants and retail stores. The cast members would also go around to local schools to speak to students.

Broadcast and syndication

The series also airs in broadcast syndication on Ovation. Ovation airs the show every Monday and Tuesday afternoon for five hours from 2:00 PM ET to 7:00 PM ET back to back. WGN America previously aired the series every weekday morning starting at 11AM ET for 4 hours usually until 3PM ET Monday through Thursday. WGN aired the show Fridays, too, at the same time. Ovation now has moved the show to Mondays mornings from 8 AM to 2 PM as part of their "Morning Mysteries" crime and mystery drama block, and Thursdays at 10 PM/9 PM ET/CT (or sometimes 11 PM/10 PM ET/CT.). The show also aired Tuesdays nights at 7PM ET, but was scaled down to just a Thursday airing starting December 7, 2020. MeTV also acquired the rights to the show and it began airing in around either 2018 or 2019, running it every weekday beginning at 11AM ET/10AM CT. MGM's ThisTV network, a classic movie-focused network, also airs the show weekdays. The show previously aired on TNT from 1995 to 2005. The show has remained relatively strong in syndication to this day, particularly airing on some local stations. Bounce TV began airing reruns of the series starting September 13, 2021.

Season	Time	Rank	Rating	Viewers
1987–88	Tuesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC	19	17.0	15,639,200
1988–89		18	17.3	15,564,900
1989–90		19	16.9	13,871,900
1990–91		21	14.9 (tied with Major Dad)	—
1991–92	Tuesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on NBC (October 1, 1991 – January 7, 1992) Tuesday at 8:00–9:00 PM on NBC (January 14 – May 19, 1992)	30	13.1 (tied with The Golden Girls)	—
1992–93	Wednesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on CBS	46	—	10,630,000
1993–94	Thursday at 8:00–9:00 PM on CBS (September 16, 1993 – January 6, 1994) Wednesday at 9:00–10:00 PM on CBS (January 12 – May 11, 1994)	—	—	—

Home media

TGG Direct released the first season on DVD in Region 1 on August 30, 2012. The eighth and final season was released on June 11, 2013.

On October 23, 2012, TGG Direct released an 8-disc best-of set entitled In the Heat of the Night – 24hr Television Marathon.

TGG Direct released seasons 4 and 5 onto DVD on December 10, 2013. However, due to licensing issues, the following episodes are missing from the box set: Brotherly Love, Shine On Sparta Moon, Sweet, Sweet Blues, Sanctuary, Law On Trial.

TGG Direct released seasons 2 & 3 in a single boxed set onto DVD on March 11, 2014. However, due to clearance issues, the following episodes are excluded – Season 2 Excluded Episodes: The Family Secret, The Hammer and the Glove, A Trip Upstate, Intruders, Sister Sister, Walkout; Season 3 Excluded Episodes: Fairest of Them All, Crackdown, Anniversary, My Name is Hank, King's Ransom, A Loss of Innocence, Home is Where the Heart Is, Indiscretions, Citizen Trundel Part 1 and Part 2

TGG Direct also released seasons 6 and 7 in individual boxed sets onto DVD on March 11, 2014. However, due to clearance issues, the following episode is excluded from Season 6: Random's Child and the following episodes are excluded from Season 7: Singin' The Blues, Every Man's Family, Maybelle Returns, Ches and the Grand Lady, Dangerous Engagement.

Awards

Both Carroll O'Connor and Howard Rollins received prestigious awards for their work on the show in 1989. O'Connor received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and Rollins the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, his second.

In the Heat of the Night won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series (formally Outstanding Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie), two years in a row, 1992 and 1993. The 1992 win was specifically for the Season 5 episode, "Sweet, Sweet Blues".

Soundtrack

The theme song, "In the Heat of the Night," was originally recorded by Quincy Jones, with Ray Charles on vocals and piano for the movie. It is usually paired with "They Call Me Mr. Tibbs" on albums. Bill Champlin of the band Chicago sang the opening theme song for the television series.

The original song itself is supposed to be from Virgil's point of view, being in a stranger in a hostile environment. In the case of the TV series, the lyrics refer to both main characters fighting crime in the tiny town of Sparta.

Randall Franks and Alan Autry co-produced the cast CD Christmas Time's A Comin' for Sonlite and MGM/UA, featuring the entire cast and a host of music stars. It was released Christmas 1991 and 1992, and was among the top holiday recordings of those years around the South and Midwest.

External links

• In the Heat of the Night at IMDb
• In the Heat of the Night at AllMovie
• Crystal Reel Award