In the Heat of the Night (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.
Cast & Crew
Carroll O'Connor William Gillespie
Howard E. Rollins Virgil Tibbs
Anne-Marie Johnson Althea Tibbs
Alan Autry Bubba Skinner
Denise Nicholas Harriet DeLong
David Hart Parker Williams
Hugh O'Connor Lonnie Jamison
Christian LeBlanc Junior Abernathy
Lois Nettleton Joanne St. John
Fred Silverman Executive Producer
⨁Full Cast & Crew
Upcoming TV Airings
The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.
Friday, December 26
A Frenzied Affair
Season 6 • Episode 4
A man is accused of killing his teen stepdaughter's married lover; guest Allan Arbus.
Friday, December 26
Lake Winahatchie
Season 6 • Episode 21
Lana's (Christine Elise) inherited home plays an important part in a mob-related real estate scam.
Friday, December 26
A Correct Settling
Season 6 • Episode 22
Fearing loss of her son, Harriet agrees to help get her ex-husband's murder sentence reversed.
Friday, December 26
Child's Play
Season 7 • Episode 1
The city council replaces Bill with an ex-FBI agent (Carl Weathers).
Sunday, December 28
Fool for Love
Season 5 • Episode 13
Tibbs and Gillespie suspect a doctor who made his girlfriend the prime suspect in his wife's murder.
Sunday, December 28
Love, Honor and Obey
Season 5 • Episode 14
A mugging investigation uncovers the plight of an abused wife.
Sunday, December 28
Odessa
Season 5 • Episode 15
The honoring of Sparta's first black woman voter may touch off a racial incident.
Sunday, December 28
A Time to Trust
Season 5 • Episode 16
Virgil tries to gather evidence on a drug dealer connected to a student of Althea's.
Sunday, December 28
By Means Most Foul
Season 5 • Episode 17
A suspected revenge bombing may be a smoke screen for a restaurateur's insurance scam.
Sunday, December 28
Trundel's Will Be Done
Season 5 • Episode 18
A wealthy widow claims Harriet DeLong's nephew, saying her husband fathered him.
Monday, December 29
Hatton's Turn
Season 7 • Episode 2
Gillespie becomes sheriff; the murders of two Spartans link to a mentally impaired youth.
Monday, December 29
Hatton's Turn
Season 7 • Episode 3
Gillespie becomes sheriff; the murders of two Spartans link to a mentally impaired youth.
Monday, December 29
A Depraved Heart
Season 7 • Episode 4
Bubba's friend (Lisa Rieffel) is accused of killing the man who infected her with HIV.
Tuesday, December 30
Incident at Brewer's Pond
Season 7 • Episode 5
A mysterious caller leads police to a body at the bottom of a pond.
Tuesday, December 30
A Love Lost
Season 7 • Episode 6
Gillespie's daughter suspects her boyfriend is smuggling guns.
Tuesday, December 30
Singing the Blues
Season 7 • Episode 7
LuAnn learns her new boyfriend (Willie Gault) is involved with drug dealers.
Wednesday, December 31
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.
Wednesday, December 31
Every Man's Family
Season 7 • Episode 9
Bubba races to Atlanta to care for his nephew (Chad Allen), who has overdosed on drugs.
Wednesday, December 31
A Baby Called Rocket
Season 7 • Episode 10
LuAnn becomes attached to an undernourished 4-month-old baby found in a crack house.
Friday, January 2
Little Girl Lost
Season 7 • Episode 11
A woman with a history of drunken driving is involved in a girl's hit-and-run death.
Friday, January 2
Your Own Kind
Season 7 • Episode 12
The sniper-shooting of a high-school track star may have been racially motivated.
Friday, January 2
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Season 7 • Episode 13
Tibbs defends Parker against charges that he assaulted an ex-girlfriend's fiance.
Sunday, January 4
Moseley's Lot
Season 5 • Episode 19
A man comes to his son's rescue when the lad is caught gambling with someone else's money.
Sunday, January 4
Family Reunion
Season 5 • Episode 20
An ex-convict learns his wife has spent his cache of stolen cash.
Sunday, January 4
Sanctuary
Season 5 • Episode 21
Gillespie and Tibbs try to prevent a political refugee's extradition.
Sunday, January 4
The Law on Trial
Season 5 • Episode 22
The sheriff argues that Tibbs and Gillespie's obstruction of justice led to Salazar's death.
Sunday, January 4
A Small War
Season 6 • Episode 1
Gillespie's affair with DeLong draws her son's wrath, which confirms her concerns.
Sunday, January 4
A Small War
Season 6 • Episode 2
Eugene (Rugg Williams) agrees to identify the killers, over his mother's objections.
Monday, January 5
Maybelle Returns
Season 7 • Episode 14
A former madam's (Elizabeth Ashley) phone-sex business creates an uproar.
Monday, January 5
The Last Round
Season 7 • Episode 15
Forbes' fiancee delivers an ultimatum; a boxer Forbes has been grooming commits a burglary.
Monday, January 5
Ches and the Grand Lady
Season 7 • Episode 16
Someone threatens the life of Sparta blues singer Ches Collins.
Tuesday, January 6
Conspiracy of One
Season 7 • Episode 17
Attorney Virgil Tibbs is caught between a client and the certainty that the man murdered his wife.
Tuesday, January 6
The Rabbi
Season 7 • Episode 18
A rabbi returns to Sparta, his hometown, and faces anti-Semitism.
Tuesday, January 6
Hard Choices
Season 7 • Episode 19
Harriet DeLong's son Eugene witnesses a robbery in which a store owner is wounded.
Wednesday, January 7
Time's Long Shadow
Season 7 • Episode 20
Harriet tries to stop construction at a site where pre-Civil War artifacts have been found.
Wednesday, January 7
Poor Relations
Season 7 • Episode 21
Parker's stepfather returns, pursued by murderous art thieves.
Wednesday, January 7
Dangerous Engagement
Season 7 • Episode 22
Harriet and Bill become targets of a crazed gunman on the eve of their wedding.
Thursday, January 8
Give Me Your Life
Season 7 • Episode 23
Cult leader's (Peter Fonda) activities get Forbes' attention.
Thursday, January 8
A Matter of Justice (Pt. 1 & 2)
Season 8 •
The trail of a serial killer leads the sheriff and police chief to a citizen in Sparta, Miss.
Friday, January 9
Who Was Geli Bendi?
Season 8 •
Only the sheriff knows the identity of an actress who has returned home to Sparta, Mississippi.
Friday, January 9
By Duty Bound
Season 8 • Episode 5
A murder suspect works for a businessman running against Gillespie for sheriff.
Sunday, January 11
Brother's Keeper
Season 6 • Episode 3
Corbin (Crystal Fox) pursues her brother (Meshach Taylor), an ex-con who robbed a bar in town.
Sunday, January 11
A Frenzied Affair
Season 6 •
Man accused of killing teen stepdaughter's married lover.
Sunday, January 11
Discovery
Season 6 • Episode 5
The suicide of an ex-boyfriend pushes Althea to the brink of a nervous breakdown; guest Allan Arbus.
Sunday, January 11
Random's Child
Season 6 • Episode 6
Gillespie's estranged daughter from a brief romance returns to Sparta to settle her mother's estate.
Sunday, January 11
An Occupational Hazard
Season 6 • Episode 7
An unemployed man is accused of murdering his wife's boss, who was sexually harassing her.
Sunday, January 11
Last Rights
Season 6 • Episode 8
The doctor (Earl Holliman) of Virgil's terminally ill aunt is suspected of mercy killings.
Monday, January 12
Grow Old Along With Me (1 & 2)
Season 8 •
Gillespie and Forbes link a suspect to a witness of a hit-and-run fatality.
Monday, January 12
Pilot
Season 1 • Episode 1
A high-school girl's murder is investigated by Gillespie and Tubbs.
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