In the Heat of the Night
The cases and adventures of the police forces in and around Sparta, Mississippi.
Cast:Carroll O'Connor , Alan Autry , David Hart , Hugh O'Connor , Howard E. Rollins Jr. , Anne-Marie Johnson , Geoffrey Thorne , Crystal Fox , C.C. Taylor , Dee Shaw , Randall Franks , Denise Nicholas , Harvey E. Lee Jr. , Mark Johnson , Dan Biggers , Tonea Stewart , Wilbur Fitzgerald , Carl Weathers
S1.E1 ∙ Pilot: Part 1
Chief Gillespie reluctantly accepts visiting Sparta native Virgil Tibbs as his new Chief of Detectives in the midst of a high-profile murder investigation.
S1.E2 ∙ Pilot: Part 2
Gillespie and Tibbs learn to get used to each other's working habits and bond as workers and friends to solve the murder.
S1.E3 ∙ Road Kill
Despite compelling evidence, Gillespie refuses to believe that his best friend used another person's playful gunfire to cover up for the murder of his alcoholic wife.
S1.E4 ∙ Fate
Racial tensions boil over in Sparta when a married, white woman has an extramarital affair with a black businessman.
S1.E5 ∙ Blind Spot: Part 1
When two local locksmiths uncover a cocaine fencing operation, all evidence points to the personal staff of Virgil Tibbs' former high school rival.
S1.E6 ∙ Blind Spot: Part 2
Tibbs gets a long overdue dose of self-satisfaction when the Sparta Police close in on the masterminds of the drug trafficking operation.
S1.E7 ∙ A Necessary Evil
Gillespie and Tibb's reluctant investigation of a bigamy case becomes absurd with the accused's half dozen wives, and serious when he is found dead in his cell.
S1.E8 ∙ ...And Then You Die
Althea Tibbs is kidnapped and taken hostage by the prime suspect in a serial murder investigation.
S2.E1 ∙ Don't Look Back: Part 1
A young woman is murdered in the exact same manner to a notorious murder Chief Gillespie investigated 20 years ago and he is threatened as well.
S2.E2 ∙ Don't Look Back: Part 2
Tension is created between Tibbs & Gillespie when Tibbs is nominated to be the new Chief of Police. The party responsible for the murder is found to be surprisingly close.
S2.E3 ∙ The Family Secret
After a prominent businessman is mysteriously murdered, evidence of incestuous relationships with his daughter and granddaughter are uncovered.
S2.E4 ∙ The Hammer and the Glove
Virgil's ex-partner, who was also Althea's ex-lover, comes to Sparta for a reunion nobody will forget.
S2.E5 ∙ Prisoners
When Officer Sweet's first bust, his best friend from childhood, dies in the Newman County Jail under mysterious circumstances, he presses Gillespie to investigate the matter.
S2.E6 ∙ Hot Nights
Bubba Skinner enters into a whirlwind romance with a seductive author passing through Sparta.
S2.E7 ∙ Gunshot
Virgil Tibbs shoots and kills a robbery suspect during a foot pursuit, unaware that it was a girl.
S2.E8 ∙ Country Mouse, City Mouse
Bubba's nephew and Virgil's visiting niece become friendly and are chased by a dangerous criminal thought to have died in an explosion.
S2.E9 ∙ Stranger in Town
The investigation of a prostitute's murder is complicated when a traveling cook comes to Sparta and starts working at the Magnolia Cafe.
S2.E10 ∙ Tear Down the Walls
A skeleton in the closet of a local pastor surfaces after he mysteriously drops dead during a church service.
S2.E11 ∙ A Trip Upstate
Gillespie is asked by a condemned prisoner to be present at his execution.
S2.E12 ∙ A.K.A. Kelly Kay
Joanne must reveal a painful part of her past to Gillespie after a long lost acquaintance escapes from prison.
S2.E13 ∙ These Things Take Time
Tibbs tries to help a teenage mother who was abandoned by her baby's father.
S2.E14 ∙ Intruders
The son of a city councilwoman is accused of a string of robbery/murders.
S2.E16 ∙ Sister, Sister
Sibling rivalry between two sisters intensifies when their bedridden father dies.
S2.E17 ∙ Walkout
Sparta becomes a battleground in the midst of a violent union strike.
S2.E18 ∙ Accused
Bubba and Virgil bond as friends and coworkers is tested when Bubba is accused of rape by two different women.
S2.E19 ∙ Fifteen Forever
The town of Sparta grieves when a horrific drunk driving accident claims the lives of the entire Sparta High School cheerleading squad.
S2.E20 ∙ Ladybug, Ladybug
A handicapped woman tricks her boyfriend into murdering her husband.
S2.E21 ∙ The Pig Woman of Sparta
A crabby and reclusive woman shoots and kills anyone who sets foot onto her property.
S2.E22 ∙ Missing
Chief Gillespie returns from a convention, only to be kidnapped and presumed dead.
S3.E1 ∙ Rape
When Althea is raped by a colleague, Gillespie and the Sparta PD must solve the case before a furious Virgil gets revenge on his own.
S3.E2 ∙ Fairest of Them All
Murder takes center stage when the Sparta PD discover that the death of a beauty pageant contestant was no accident.
S3.E3 ∙ Murder Most Ancient
A young man stands accused of his abusive father's murder.
S3.E4 ∙ First Girl
The Sparta Police Department welcome their first female officer.
S3.E5 ∙ Crackdown
Wilson Sweet puts his job on the line when he takes a personal stake in the case of a 13-year-old drug addict.
S3.E6 ∙ Anniversary
Chief Gillespie recounts the events surrounding his kidnapping and the killing of his temporary replacement.
S3.E7 ∙ Time of the Stranger
Parker puts himself in a compromising position when he becomes protective of a friend who is accused of the murder of a private investigator.
S3.E8 ∙ Vengeance
Bubba Skinner is trailed by the family of a man he killed during an armed robbery attempt.
S3.E9 ∙ My Name Is Hank
A Vietnamese teenager comes to town, claiming to be the son of one of Chief Gillespie's GI friends. The Chief must help the boy when he gets himself accused of the murder of a comvienence store owner.
S3.E10 ∙ King's Ransom
A former prize fighter chooses blackmail over testimony when he is called upon by the FBI to testify against an old mob boss.
S3.E11 ∙ Epitaph for a Lady
Chief Gillespie's close friend stands accused of the murder of the doctor who misdiagnosed his wife's terminal cancer.
S3.E12 ∙ Triangle
A local man, thought to be quiet and reserved, murders his wife and her lover when he walks in on them, then holds his daughter hostage.
S3.E13 ∙ Hello in There
A young boy refuses to speak after he witnesses his father's murder.
S3.E14 ∙ December Days
When Chief Gillespie investigates a death at a nursing home, he receives assistance from another resident there who is a former cop.
S3.E15 ∙ A Loss of Innocence
The Sparta Police uncover the shocking living conditions of a high school student, after Althea Tibbs asks them to investigate the residence after the girl's fifth truancy.
S3.E17 ∙ Home Is Where the Heart Is
A minister is killed when he attempts to close down a brothel in Sparta.
S3.E18 ∙ An Angry Woman
Althea grieves when an impoverished coworker dies in a hit-and-run accident, while the Police investigate the incident.
S3.E19 ∙ Indiscretions
Althea's friend comes to town and becomes attracted to Officer Sweet while she is on the run for murdering her married lover.
S3.E20 ∙ Night of the Killing
Gillespie and Tibbs clash over who the guilty party is in the murder of a cab driver, until a local informant provides some vital information.
S3.E21 ∙ Citizen Trundel: Part 1
Harriet Delong's sister is killed in a murder ordered by her married lover, the wealthiest man in Sparta. Harriet accuses the police department of not properly bringing the mam to justice.
S3.E22 ∙ Citizen Trundel: Part 2
Through a search of the killer's house, the smoking gun is found to pin the guilty party. Bill Gillespie and Harriet Delong are asked to be godparents to the Tibbs' expectant child.
S4.E1 ∙ Brotherly Love: Part 1
Virgil Tibbs returns to Philadelphia to investigate his best man's death and uncovers police corruption within his friend's precinct.
S4.E2 ∙ Brotherly Love: Part 2
When Gillespie travels to Philadelphia to assist Virgil in his investigation, they are able to bring down the vigilante cops and clear his friend's name. The two return to Sparta just in time for Virgil to welcome his children, William & Sarah, into the world.
S4.E3 ∙ Lessons Learned
A father is overcome with guilt when his daughter is killed after he disowned her.
S4.E4 ∙ Perversions of Justice
Tempers flare in Sparta when an elementary school teacher is accused of molesting one of his students.
S4.E5 ∙ And Justice for Some
Virgil's young neighbor is badly injured in a hit-and-run accident caused by a cocky drug trafficker.
S4.E6 ∙ Heart of Gold
Bubba Skinner rekindles an old romance, then finds himself hurt and confused when she stands accused of murder.
S4.E7 ∙ Quick Fix
While spending his day off fishing, Bubba's dog unearths a dead infant, found to have been born to a mentally-challenged teenager.
S4.E8 ∙ Homecoming
When a paroled man returns to Sparta, the whole town becomes a suspect when the man is murdered.
S4.E9 ∙ A Problem Too Personal
Harriet Delong's son is implicated in the investigation of an armed robbery committed by her ex-husband.
S4.E10 ∙ A Final Arrangement
Wilson Sweet has a hard time believing that his good friend murdered his wife, who had been diagnosed with cancer.
S4.E11 ∙ Family Matters
Virgil's cousin is accused of a string of robberies in the midst of him trying to bring some peace back to the family.
S4.E12 ∙ Bounty Hunter
Bubba's friend is put in danger when a bounty hunter is on the trail of her brother.
S4.E13 ∙ Blessings
During the Christmas season, a flirtatious newspaper reporter prints an unflattering story about the Sparta Police Department.
S4.E14 ∙ Shine on Sparta Moon
A teenage girl is killed and her boyfriend blinded in a car accident caused by spiked moonshine.
S4.E15 ∙ An Execution of Trust
A psychiatrist, bound by her own rule of confidentiality, holds information proving that a man about to be executed for murder may actually be innocent.
S4.E16 ∙ A Child of Promise
A promising high school student is determined to encourage his younger brother to make positive choices in his life.
S4.E17 ∙ Paper Castles
Virgil puts himself in a compromising position when he uses inside information to inform a friend that he was cheated when he invested in a building project.
S4.E18 ∙ Laid to Waste
Parker finds himself attracted to the main witness of a murder investigation, a beautiful blind girl who overheard her neighbor's murder.
S4.E19 ∙ First Deadly Sin
Althea's colleague is the latest victim of a serial rapist who preys on single, blonde women.
S4.E20 ∙ Just a Country Boy
Bubba travels to Los Angeles to extradite a prisoner to Sparta to stand trial and finds himself the target of the man's accusers.
S4.E21 ∙ No Other Road
Harriet's son tries to have his father's death row conviction overturned.
S4.E22 ∙ A Turning
Althea is starting to feel the strain of being the wife of one police officer and the daughter of another.
S5.E1 ∙ A Woman Much Admired
Gillespie receives a life altering shock when an old flame comes for a visit and is later murdered.
S5.E2 ∙ Baby for Sale
Bubba discovers that his cousins have adopted their baby under questionable circumstances.
S5.E3 ∙ Obsession
A promiscuous high school teacher is stalked by her dangerous ex-boyfriend.
S5.E5 ∙ Ruda's Awakening
When Virgil's estranged aunt is eyewitness to a teenager killed in a botched arrest, her resentment for Virgil clouds her better judgement as to what really happened.
S5.E6 ∙ Unfinished Business
Bubba returns to Los Angeles to tie up some loose ends from his last trip there.
S5.E7 ∙ The More Things Change
Cyrus Chambers threatens to sell his business and leave for an extended trip with his wife Irene, to the dismay of his junior partner, Tom Dalton, who is having a torrid affair with Irene. Chambers also has financial problems with his illegitimate African-American daughter, Faith Todd. Subsequent events bring disaster and redemption.
S5.E8 ∙ Sweet, Sweet Blues
A local jazz musician reveals information about the murder of Officer Sweet's grandfather, which reopens the 40-year-old case.
S5.E9 ∙ Sparta Gold
Bubba stumbles upon a marijuana growing operation, later found to be led by a Sheriff's Office deputy.
S5.E10 ∙ An Eye for an Eye
D.A. Darnell's daughter is kidnapped by the father of a man Darnelle sent to prison, who committed suicide.
S5.E11 ∙ The Littlest Victim
Lonnie Jamison is saddened to discover that his high school girlfriend is now an impoverished, single mother.
S5.E12 ∙ The Landlord
When a slumlord is mysteriously murdered, it is implied that he had dealings with dope pushers. Until informant Jimmy Dawes provides some vital information.
S5.E13 ∙ Fool for Love
When a doctor's disabled wife discovers his affair with one of his patients, he takes matters into his own hands to correct the situation.
S5.E14 ∙ Love, Honor and Obey
Parker's friend takes matters into her own hands when she is fed up with her husband's physical abuse.
S5.E15 ∙ Odessa
Sparta Police is on guard to control racial tension when a ceremony is held to honor the first black woman who registered to vote in Sparta.
S5.E16 ∙ A Time to Trust
The stepfather of one of Althea's students is implicated in a drug trafficking investigation.
S5.E17 ∙ By Means Most Foul
When a woman plots to kill her husband in order to continue her torrid love affair, things don't go exactly as planned.
S5.E18 ∙ Trundel's Will Be Done
The wife of Harriet's sister's lover seeks custody of Harriet's nephew, the product of her late husband's affair.
S5.E19 ∙ Moseley's Lot
The son of a local electrical contractor resents the fact that his father is always bailing his younger brother out of financial messes.
S5.E20 ∙ Family Reunion
A paroled robber returns to Sparta in search of a $750,000 stash.
S5.E21 ∙ Sanctuary
Gillespie & Tibbs, along with the abbot of a local monastery, stand accused of harboring a fugitive who escaped from a chain gang.
S5.E22 ∙ The Law on Trial
The trio receives an outpouring of support from the town and the police department in the days leading up to their trial. Romance is in the air for Bill Gillespie and Harriet DeLong.
S6.E1 ∙ A Small War: Part 1
While Sparta's police chief William O. 'Bill' Gillespie celebrates a mis-trial with Harriet DeLong, they worry about her son Eugene Glendon, who is out on probation. He was tricked into waiting in his friend Byron's car while Byron bought cocaine from dealer Clay Wilson. The crack pusher gang 'the Crew' from Jackson kills both by shooting through the wall. Sparta's police investigates and tries to keep the drug pests from spreading from the city. The Crew returns to spread free drug samples, soon causing an OD wave.
S6.E2 ∙ A Small War: Part 2
Despite his disdain for Bill Gillespie, Harriet's son Eugene helps the Sparta Police bring down the crack house after he is an eyewitness to his best friend's drug-related murder.
S6.E3 ∙ Brother's Keeper
Luann is furious when her slacker brother returns and is immediately accused of robbing a shady sports bar. Her mother is in denial and insists her son has changed.
S6.E4 ∙ A Frenzied Affair
A troubled high school student murders his ex-girlfriend's lover, then fixes it so her stepfather is blamed for the crime. Althea suffers a nervous breakdown after witnessing the student's suicide.
S6.E5 ∙ Discovery
Virgil enlists the help of Dr. Levi Atwill to help bring Althea out of her funk and return to her teaching job. The murder investigation is complicated when the dead student's ex-girlfriend acquires yet another boyfriend who murders her stepfather and seriously injured one of Gillespie's good friends.
S6.E6 ∙ Random's Child
Bill Gillespie makes peace with his estranged daughter after she comes to Sparta to settle her deceased mother's affairs.
S6.E7 ∙ An Occupational Hazard
Computer thieves provide a man with a window of opportunity to cover up for his wife's violent retaliation against her abusive boss.
S6.E8 ∙ Last Rights
The doctor treating Virgil's dying aunt is the chief suspect in a series of mercy killings.
S6.E9 ∙ When the Music Stopped
A washed up country singer, whose biggest fan is Bubba Skinner, is accused of the murder of his former road manager.
S6.E10 ∙ Flowers from a Lady
Bubba is first on the scene of a carjacking and first in the heart of the victim, a city council woman with a history of "man problems".
S6.E11 ∙ Private Sessions
When a young woman takes her life by jumping off a bridge, her boyfriend, who is also Virgil's law school classmate, stands accused of her murder.
S6.E12 ∙ Judgment Day
A prominent judge's wife threatens to reveal a skeleton in his closet unless he grants her a lucrative divorce.
S6.E13 ∙ Falsely Accused
Wilson Sweet's job is put on the line when he is accused of soliciting a bribe from a shady used car salesman.
S6.E14 ∙ A Step Removed
A threat made in anger makes Parker's stepfather the prime suspect in the murder of his former boss.
S6.E15 ∙ Deadly Affection
A single mother is harassed by her landlord, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
S6.E16 ∙ Leftover Man: Part 1
When a racist politician visits Sparta during his political rally, a staged assassination attempt intended to make him look better to his perspective voters goes horribly wrong.
S6.E17 ∙ Leftover Man: Part 2
The Sparta Police investigate when it is discovered that the murder attempt may not have been staged after all.
S6.E18 ∙ A Dish Best Served Cold
When an embezzler returns to Sparta after serving a prison sentence, quite a few people become suspects when the man is killed.
S6.E19 ∙ Legacy
A man is determined to make sure a young woman does not receive her inheritance, promised by his grandfather 3 decades earlier.
S6.E20 ∙ Even Nice People
Shady real estate developers try to drive Gillespie's daughter out of her property, in order to make way for a new development project.
S6.E21 ∙ Lake Winahatchie
The common-law husband of Lana's mother returns to Sparta and tries to extort money from the land developers, who are eventually driven out of town.
S6.E22 ∙ A Correct Settling
Sparta Police investigate the possibility of a prison bishop being forced off the road being racially motivated. Bill Gillespie and Harriet Delong discuss taking their relationship to the next level.
S7.E1 ∙ Child's Play
Many changes come to Sparta. Virgil Tibbs has left the Sparta Police Department and he, Althea and their twins have returned to Philadelphia, PA so Virgil can complete his law school studies. Bill Gillespie has been voted out as chief and is replaced by FBI Agent Hampton Forbes from Memphis, TN. Forbes inherits the case of a reclusive man who is murdered as he is awaiting trial for manslaughter.
S7.E2 ∙ Hatton's Turn: Part 1
Gillespie gets the last laugh against the city council when he is named Newman County Sheriff to replace an ailing Will McComb, who has suffered a heart attack. As county sheriff, Gillespie's first case is that of a triple murder, where the investigation points to a good natured, mentally challenged teenage boy.
S7.E3 ∙ Hatton's Turn: Part 2
Gillespie and Forbes become fast friends when both police forces team up and solve the triple murder. Attorney Wade Hatton returns to Sparta and hopes to rekindle a romance from the past with Sarah Hallisey.
S7.E4 ∙ A Depraved Heart
Bubba Skinner is determined to have a womanizing real estate agent charged with attempted murder after the man knowingly infected Bubba's friend with HIV.
S7.E5 ∙ Incident at Brewer's Pond
A local drunk kills the man he believed was having an affair with his wife.
S7.E6 ∙ A Love Lost
When Lana's ex-boyfriend comes to Sparta, dim-witted Randy Calhoun stumbles upon the real reason for his visit: an illegal gun running operation.
S7.E7 ∙ Singin' the Blues
Luann moonlights as a singer at her boyfriend's new nightclub and she unwittingly uncovers a drug dealing operation run by the bartender.
S7.E8 ∙ Virgil Tibbs: Attorney at Law
Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta with a law degree, news of his failed marriage and a murder suspect to defend.
S7.E9 ∙ Every Man's Family
Bubba travels to Atlanta, GA in an attempt to improve his drug addicted nephew's quality of life.
S7.E10 ∙ A Baby Called Rocket
Luann tries desperately to adopt a baby that was abandoned in a crack house raid.
S7.E11 ∙ Little Girl Lost
A hit-and-run accident caused by an alcoholic teenager claims the life of a 10-year-old girl.
S7.E12 ∙ Your Own Kind
An interracial high school couple is the target of a racist sniper on the Sparta High School field.
S7.E13 ∙ Good Cop, Bad Cop
Virgil defends Parker Williams when he is accused of police brutality during an arrest involving Parker's ex-fiance.
S7.E14 ∙ Maybelle Returns
Former madam Maybelle Chesboro returns to Sparta and opens up a phone sex operation disguised as a communications business.
S7.E15 ∙ The Last Round
Angela Dolphy, Chief Forbes's fiancée, is in Sparta from Memphis for a week to entice Forbes to change professions before they get married. The chief arranges a dinner with Bill Gillespie and Harriet DeLong to coax Angela to relocate to Sparta. An example of Forbes's work is the new boxing program for at risk young men. Unfortunately, the finest boxer, African-American Kevin "Cat" Brooks, is involved with a professional burglar, Caucasian Dennis Cantrell, in a series of home invasions and robberies. Forbes and Angela must come to terms with their personal goals and the impact on their relationship.
S7.E16 ∙ Ches and the Grand Lady
Jazz musician Ches Collins returns to Sparta and it is soon evident that he has a history with Cordelia, the grande dame of Sparta. Cordelia's nephew, Raoul, will stop at nothing to put an end to any hope of a union between the two. It is up to Cordelia's other nephew, Lonnie Jameson, to put an end to Raoul's antics.
S7.E17 ∙ Conspiracy of One
Virgil Tibbs finds himself on both sides of the law when he is asked to handle the probate of a verbally abusive alcoholic woman, whose death may not have been an accident.
S7.E18 ∙ The Rabbi
A synagogue comes to Sparta and is quickly vandalized and robbed. The Rabbi does not believe Sheriff Gillespie is worthy of investigating the incident.
S7.E19 ∙ Hard Choices
Eugene Glendon is accused of committing a robbery after he tries to persuade the real suspect not to go through with it.
S7.E20 ∙ Time's Long Shadow
Womanizer Frank Davenport is the general contractor on a large residential project in Sparta that threatens an area of slave artifacts. He is also having a torrid affair with his new secretary, Cindy Jenk, whose father Gus is a protective hot head. There are hard feelings, even fights, among the townspeople who either support or oppose stopping the construction project to save the antiquities. It is a toss-up who will get to Davenport first.
S7.E21 ∙ Poor Relations
In a somewhat comical episode, Parker's stepfather returns to Sparta with his new wife and runs Parker out of house and home. Among Roy's possessions is an ornate painting, the value of which Roy is unaware.
S7.E22 ∙ Dangerous Engagement
A newspaper misprint makes Bill Gillespie the target of an escaped killer in the days leading up to he and Harriet's wedding. Bill and Harriet are married in a beautiful, simple ceremony with Chief Forbes serving as best man.
S7.E23 ∙ Give Me Your Life: Part 1
Sparta Police and the Newman County Sheriff's Department join forces to investigate the antics of a religious cult that has taken up residence in an abandoned school building.
S7.E24 ∙ Give Me Your Life: Part 2
The investigation uncovers evidence of statutory rape and drug dealing within the cult. It is further complicated by the actions of an overly aggressive newspaper reporter, as well as the discovery of school age children being members of the cult. But in the end, teamwork pays off and everyone is driven out.
S8.E1 ∙ A Matter of Justice
An local retired judge's depraved grandson goes on a serial killing spree in Sparta.
S8.E2 ∙ Who Was Geli Bendl?
A former resident of the bottoms, who is now a famous movie star, returns to Sparta to try to persuaded her sister to go after a better quality of life.
S8.E3 ∙ By Duty Bound
When Gillespie runs for a permanent position as county sheriff, his running mate is investigated for allegations of insurance fraud, corruption and murder.
S8.E4 ∙ Grow Old Along with Me
When a former cop marries a wealthy widow, his ex-girlfriend sees an opportunity for blackmail. But their plan to keep her quiet and out of their lives does not exactly go as planned.
