In the Heat of the Night (1988)

Crime · Drama · Mystery

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.

IMDb rating: 7.6 (7,272 votes)
Seasons: 8
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video · Philo · The Roku Channel · Tubi TV
Language: EN
Type: TV series

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Ratings refreshed Aug 19, 2026 · 8 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1988)

8.29 avg 8 episodes 8.5 → 8.4 57 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Pilot: Part 1	8.5	278
2	Pilot: Part 2	8.5	202
3	Road Kill	8.1	174
4	Fate	8.0	154
5	Blind Spot: Part 1	8.1	129
6	Blind Spot: Part 2	8.6	110
7	A Necessary Evil	8.1	142
8	...And Then You Die	8.4	141

Season 2 (1988)

8.25 avg 22 episodes 8.5 → 8.3 50 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Don't Look Back: Part 1	8.5	155
2	Don't Look Back: Part 2	8.5	126
3	The Family Secret	8.5	136
4	The Hammer and the Glove	8.2	131
5	Prisoners	8.8	148
6	Hot Nights	7.8	116
7	Gunshot	8.3	131
8	Country Mouse, City Mouse	8.1	146
9	Stranger in Town	8.3	107
10	Tear Down the Walls	8.2	104
11	A Trip Upstate	9.0	183
12	A.K.A. Kelly Kay	8.0	136
13	These Things Take Time	8.3	105
14	Intruders	8.1	97
15	The Creek	8.2	106
16	Sister, Sister	8.2	117
17	Walkout	8.4	102
18	Accused	8.1	112
19	Fifteen Forever	8.3	143
20	Ladybug, Ladybug	8.0	109
21	The Pig Woman of Sparta	7.4	113
22	Missing	8.3	157

Season 3 (1989)

8.19 avg 22 episodes 9.1 → 8.6 52 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Rape	9.1	184
2	Fairest of Them All	7.9	110
3	Murder Most Ancient	8.2	109
4	First Girl	8.5	141
5	Crackdown	8.6	166
6	Anniversary	8.6	108
7	Time of the Stranger	7.8	97
8	Vengeance	8.5	115
9	My Name Is Hank	7.9	108
10	King's Ransom	7.3	89
11	Epitaph for a Lady	7.8	102
12	Triangle	8.0	115
13	Hello in There	8.3	124
14	December Days	8.1	118
15	A Loss of Innocence	7.7	115
16	Bubba's Baby	8.1	114
17	Home Is Where the Heart Is	7.8	97
18	An Angry Woman	7.8	90
19	Indiscretions	8.5	102
20	Night of the Killing	8.5	94
21	Citizen Trundel: Part 1	8.6	104
22	Citizen Trundel: Part 2	8.6	115

Season 4 (1990)

8.30 avg 22 episodes 8.7 → 7.7 53 min avg

Bad finale

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Brotherly Love: Part 1	8.7	109
2	Brotherly Love: Part 2	8.7	103
3	Lessons Learned	8.3	100
4	Perversions of Justice	8.8	110
5	And Justice for Some	8.9	121
6	Heart of Gold	8.3	82
7	Quick Fix	8.4	81
8	Homecoming	8.2	79
9	A Problem Too Personal	8.1	77
10	A Final Arrangement	8.6	78
11	Family Matters	8.0	80
12	Bounty Hunter	8.5	87
13	Blessings	8.0	85
14	Shine on Sparta Moon	8.4	90
15	An Execution of Trust	8.0	84
16	A Child of Promise	8.4	98
17	Paper Castles	8.0	75
18	Laid to Waste	8.5	102
19	First Deadly Sin	8.2	86
20	Just a Country Boy	8.0	86
21	No Other Road	7.9	70
22	A Turning	7.7	71

Season 5 (1991)

8.28 avg 22 episodes 8.5 → 8.3 50 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Woman Much Admired	8.5	122
2	Baby for Sale	8.1	75
3	Obsession	8.1	81
4	Liar's Poker	8.0	86
5	Ruda's Awakening	8.6	78
6	Unfinished Business	8.2	80
7	The More Things Change	8.9	99
8	Sweet, Sweet Blues	8.7	139
9	Sparta Gold	8.5	85
10	An Eye for an Eye	8.4	90
11	The Littlest Victim	8.2	79
12	The Landlord	7.7	71
13	Fool for Love	8.1	82
14	Love, Honor and Obey	8.8	83
15	Odessa	8.1	77
16	A Time to Trust	7.7	65
17	By Means Most Foul	8.3	73
18	Trundel's Will Be Done	8.3	86
19	Moseley's Lot	8.1	72
20	Family Reunion	8.3	96
21	Sanctuary	8.3	92
22	The Law on Trial	8.3	91

Season 6 (1992)

8.21 avg 22 episodes 8.6 → 8.7 51 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Small War: Part 1	8.6	91
2	A Small War: Part 2	8.7	80
3	Brother's Keeper	8.3	83
4	A Frenzied Affair	8.3	90
5	Discovery	8.3	65
6	Random's Child	8.6	79
7	An Occupational Hazard	8.0	74
8	Last Rights	8.1	82
9	When the Music Stopped	7.2	90
10	Flowers from a Lady	8.5	77
11	Private Sessions	8.7	80
12	Judgment Day	8.3	73
13	Falsely Accused	8.3	76
14	A Step Removed	7.8	73
15	Deadly Affection	8.0	78
16	Leftover Man: Part 1	8.3	74
17	Leftover Man: Part 2	8.0	67
18	A Dish Best Served Cold	7.9	78
19	Legacy	7.9	91
20	Even Nice People	7.8	79
21	Lake Winahatchie	8.4	72
22	A Correct Settling	8.7	68

Season 7 (1993)

8.18 avg 24 episodes 8.6 → 8.4 52 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Child's Play	8.6	85
2	Hatton's Turn: Part 1	8.4	93
3	Hatton's Turn: Part 2	8.7	83
4	A Depraved Heart	9.0	107
5	Incident at Brewer's Pond	7.8	74
6	A Love Lost	8.2	70
7	Singin' the Blues	8.7	90
8	Virgil Tibbs: Attorney at Law	8.5	73
9	Every Man's Family	8.5	88
10	A Baby Called Rocket	8.5	65
11	Little Girl Lost	8.5	88
12	Your Own Kind	7.8	67
13	Good Cop, Bad Cop	8.2	67
14	Maybelle Returns	8.0	75
15	The Last Round	8.1	62
16	Ches and the Grand Lady	8.0	86
17	Conspiracy of One	7.9	67
18	The Rabbi	7.4	73
19	Hard Choices	7.8	61
20	Time's Long Shadow	7.8	63
21	Poor Relations	7.5	74
22	Dangerous Engagement	8.7	74
23	Give Me Your Life: Part 1	7.4	132
24	Give Me Your Life: Part 2	8.4	90

Season 8 (1994)

7.55 avg 4 episodes 7.7 → 7.8 95 min avg

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Matter of Justice	7.7	211
2	Who Was Geli Bendl?	7.3	139
3	By Duty Bound	7.4	156
4	Grow Old Along with Me	7.8	169

In the Heat of the Night (1988)

Cast

Seasons

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