In the Heat of the Night (1988)

In the Heat of the Night (1988) - NBC

NBC

CBS

Series

1988

TVPG

Crime drama

Mystery

Based on the classic film, a police chief and his team tackle crime and social issues in the small town of Sparta, Mississippi, navigating racial tensions and personal dramas.

Where to Stream

1988–1995 Series 8 Seasons165 Episodes

Upcoming TV Airings

The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.

Wednesday, January 28

Anniversary

Season 3 • Episode 6

Gillespie investigates Dugan's murder and impedes the visit of an endangered civil rights leader.

Wednesday, January 28

Time of the Stranger

Season 3 • Episode 7

Parker has a crush on a dance teacher linked to an unsolved death.

Wednesday, January 28

Vengeance

Season 3 • Episode 8

The widow and brothers of a man Bubba killed during a holdup seek revenge.

Thursday, January 29

My Name Is Hank

Season 3 • Episode 9

A young Vietnamese robbery suspect may be the son of a former Sparta police officer.

Thursday, January 29

King's Ransom

Season 3 • Episode 10

A down-and-out boxer who witnessed a murder ignores Gillespie's advice to cooperate with the FBI.

Thursday, January 29

Epitaph for a Lady

Season 3 • Episode 11

A doctor is murdered after his misdiagnosis causes the death of the wife of Gillespie's friend.

Friday, January 30

Triangle

Season 3 • Episode 12

Gillespie tries to prevent a man who shot his wife and her lover from harming anyone else.

Friday, January 30

Hello in There

Season 3 • Episode 13

A councilwoman tries art therapy on a mute boy who may have witnessed his father's murder.

Friday, January 30

December Days

Season 3 • Episode 14

A retired detective assists Gillespie's probe of a murder at a rest home; guest Louise Fletcher.

Sunday, February 1

Lake Winahatchie

Season 6 • Episode 21

Lana's (Christine Elise) inherited home plays an important part in a mob-related real estate scam.

Sunday, February 1

A Correct Settling

Season 6 • Episode 22

Fearing loss of her son, Harriet agrees to help get her ex-husband's murder sentence reversed.

Sunday, February 1

Child's Play

Season 7 • Episode 1

The city council replaces Bill with an ex-FBI agent (Carl Weathers).

Sunday, February 1

Hatton's Turn

Season 7 • Episode 2

Gillespie becomes sheriff; the murders of two Spartans link to a mentally impaired youth.

Sunday, February 1

Hatton's Turn

Season 7 • Episode 3

Gillespie becomes sheriff; the murders of two Spartans link to a mentally impaired youth.

Sunday, February 1

A Depraved Heart

Season 7 • Episode 4

Bubba's friend (Lisa Rieffel) is accused of killing the man who infected her with HIV.

Monday, February 2

A Loss of Innocence

Season 3 • Episode 15

Problems arise when a teenage girl's father is found dead and her mother is reported missing.

Monday, February 2

Bubba's Baby

Season 3 • Episode 16

The search for the parents of an abandoned baby leads Gillespie on a trail of blackmail and murder.

Monday, February 2

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Season 3 • Episode 17

The madam (Diane Ladd) of a traveling bordello is suspected of murdering a preacher who opposed her.

Tuesday, February 3

An Angry Woman

Season 3 • Episode 18

Gillespie investigates the hit-and-run death of a young woman.

Tuesday, February 3

Indiscretions

Season 3 • Episode 19

Althea does not know that a visiting friend is a fugitive from justice.

Tuesday, February 3

Night of the Killing

Season 3 • Episode 20

Tibbs and Gillespie clash over a black murder suspect, whose arrest causes racial strife.

Wednesday, February 4

Citizen Trundel

Season 3 • Episode 21

Gillespie appears to know who killed Councilwoman DeLong's sister.

Wednesday, February 4

Citizen Trundel

Season 3 • Episode 22

Gillespie won't pursue a murder case against a prominent citizen.

Wednesday, February 4

Brotherly Love

Season 4 • Episode 1

Tibbs is jailed in Philadelphia for murdering a cop; Bubba acts as Althea's birthing coach.

Thursday, February 5

Brotherly Love

Season 4 • Episode 2

Tibbs is jailed in Philadelphia for murdering a cop; Bubba acts as Althea's birthing coach.

Thursday, February 5

Lessons Learned

Season 4 • Episode 3

A father's apathy toward the murder of his hooker daughter shocks Gillespie.

Thursday, February 5

Perversions of Justice

Season 4 • Episode 4

Gillespie must discreetly investigate a child-molestation claim against a fifth-grade teacher.

Friday, February 6

... And Justice for Some

Season 4 • Episode 5

Gillespie and Tibbs clash over turning a hit-and-run driver/drug dealer over to the FBI.

Friday, February 6

Hearts of Gold

Season 4 • Episode 6

The murder of a prominent attorney is linked to Bubba's new love interest, a wealthy widow.

Friday, February 6

Quick Fix

Season 4 • Episode 7

Evidence indicates a mentally impaired girl is the mother of an infant found in a shallow grave.

Sunday, February 8

Incident at Brewer's Pond

Season 7 • Episode 5

A mysterious caller leads police to a body at the bottom of a pond.

Sunday, February 8

A Love Lost

Season 7 • Episode 6

Gillespie's daughter suspects her boyfriend is smuggling guns.

Sunday, February 8

Singing the Blues

Season 7 • Episode 7

LuAnn learns her new boyfriend (Willie Gault) is involved with drug dealers.

Sunday, February 8

Virgil Tibbs, Attorney at Law

Season 7 • Episode 8

Tibbs returns with a law degree, news of his failed marriage, and a murder suspect to defend.

Sunday, February 8

Every Man's Family

Season 7 • Episode 9

Bubba races to Atlanta to care for his nephew (Chad Allen), who has overdosed on drugs.

Sunday, February 8

A Baby Called Rocket

Season 7 • Episode 10

LuAnn becomes attached to an undernourished 4-month-old baby found in a crack house.

Monday, February 9

Homecoming

Season 4 • Episode 8

The investigation of a convict's murder is hindered by too many willing suspects.

Monday, February 9

A Problem Too Personal

Season 4 • Episode 9

Gillespie tries to remain aloof in the prosecution of Harriet DeLong's ex, for robbery and murder.

Monday, February 9

A Final Arrangement

Season 4 • Episode 10

All signs point to bookstore owner Carl Tibbitts as a suspect in his wife's murder.

Tuesday, February 10

Family Matters

Season 4 • Episode 11

Tibbs' attempts to reconcile family members stall when his cousin is implicated in a crime.

Tuesday, February 10

Bounty Hunter

Season 4 • Episode 12

Gillespie tries to stop a bounty hunter from killing a man wanted for a rich woman's murder.

Tuesday, February 10

Blessings

Season 4 • Episode 13

A reporter with questionable motives makes Gillespie the subject of an article.

Wednesday, February 11

Shine on Sparta Moon

Season 4 • Episode 14

An accident blinds a high school football star and kills his girlfriend.

Wednesday, February 11

Execution of Trust

Season 4 • Episode 15

Gillespie must pry a confessed killer's name from a psychiatrist.

Wednesday, February 11

Child of Promise

Season 4 • Episode 16

Virgil's arrest of a young pusher affects one of Althea's students.

Thursday, February 12

Paper Castles

Season 4 • Episode 17

Tibbs tries to protect a friend from a shady real-estate venture, but the man is killed.

Thursday, February 12

Laid to Waste

Season 4 • Episode 18

A blind woman hears an apparent murder in a neighboring duplex, and Parker uncovers a motive.

Thursday, February 12

First Deadly Sin

Season 4 • Episode 19

A man forbids his son to tell police he saw a rape, for fear of the youth's chances for seminary.

Friday, February 13

Just a Country Boy

Season 4 • Episode 20

Bubba searches Los Angeles for a Sparta fugitive who jumped bail.

Friday, February 13

No Other Road

Season 4 • Episode 21

Tibbs and Jamison urge Harriet DeLong's son to persevere after his father's death sentence.

Friday, February 13

A Turning

Season 4 • Episode 22

Gillespie and Tibbs pursue the killers of drug dealers; Althea worries about her husband's safety.

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