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The Best Episodes of In the Heat of the Night

Every episode of In the Heat of the Night ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of In the Heat of the Night!

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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

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 7 - A Necessary Evil
    10.0/10(136 votes)

    #1 - A Necessary Evil

    S1:E7

    In this humorous episode Virgil and the Chief arrest a man for bigamy.It soon becomes a polygamy case after an endless parade of wives come to visit their husband.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 11 - A Trip Upstate
    10.0/10(172 votes)

    #2 - A Trip Upstate

    S2:E11

    In this thought provoking episode.Gillespie is surprised when a man he arrested asks to see him on the eve of his execution.He must confront his feelings about the death penalty when the prisoner asks him to witness his death.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 22 - Missing
    10.0/10(151 votes)

    #3 - Missing

    S2:E22

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 4 - The Hammer and the Glove
    9.0/10(127 votes)

    #4 - The Hammer and the Glove

    S2:E4

    Virgil is delighted when Matthew his former partner from Philidelphia comes to visit.But he soon learns his friend has another purpose for coming to Sparta.Althea is uncomfortable because she and Matthew were romantically involved before she met Virgil and she realizes that he is unwilling to accept the fact that she chose Virgil over him.Meanwhile the F.B.I. enlist Sparta P.D.'s aid in hiding a witness.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 10 - Tear Down the Walls
    9.0/10(99 votes)

    #5 - Tear Down the Walls

    S2:E10

    A minister who was integrating his church(by inviting Virgil and Althea to attend services)is poisoned.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 21 - The Pig Woman of Sparta
    9.0/10(107 votes)

    #6 - The Pig Woman of Sparta

    S2:E21

    It seems that a serial killer has been burying his victims in a wooded area owned by a wealthy hermit that Virgil refers to as ""Sparta's Howard Hughes"". Suspicion immediately falls on an eccentric woman who lives in the woods with her pigs and chases away trespassers with a shotgun.The officers ask the landowner's disturbed son for help and Bubba is surprised to find that a woman he attended high school with is working as the man's ""nurse"".Also Parker and Sweet compete with one another to solve the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of In the Heat of the Night

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  7. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot (1)
    8.0/10(267 votes)

    #7 - Pilot (1)

    S1:E1

    Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta and joins the police force as chief of detectives.His arrival is met with resistance from police chief Bill Gillespie - who resents having an officer hired without his approval.Virgil has trouble adjusting to the small, antiquated police force.Tibbs' first case is a racially charged murder case that is soon complicated when the suspect is murdered in his cell.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 2 - Pilot (2)
    8.0/10(197 votes)

    #8 - Pilot (2)

    S1:E2

    The investigation into the brutal murders of a young girl and the suspect in her death, leads Tibbs and Gillespie to the son of one of Sparta's wealthiest and most influential citizens.As they come closer to the truth things become dangerous for Virgil.

    Director:Leo Penn
    Writer:Kathy McCormick

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  9. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 3 - Road Kill
    8.0/10(168 votes)

    #9 - Road Kill

    S1:E3

    The affair between the husband of a wealthy woman and her distant cousin leads to her murder. Virgil immediately suspects the pair.But he has a difficult time persuading Gillespie, who is a long time friend of the man and Bubba, who has been seeing the cousin.Bubba and Virgil clash again and Virgil is frustrated when the Chief rejects his theory about the crime.

    Director:Leo Penn
    Writers:Kathy McCormick, Richard Fielder

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  10. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 4 - Fate
    8.0/10(145 votes)

    #10 - Fate

    S1:E4

    Racial tensions run high when a married white woman has an affair with a black businessman from New York.Meanwhile Virgil is not happy when the Chief enlists his aid in tracking down Bubba's cousin, a suspected moonshiner.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Richard Fielder

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  11. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 5 - Blind Spot (1)
    8.0/10(125 votes)

    #11 - Blind Spot (1)

    S1:E5

    Virgil refuses to let go of a grudge against a wealthy former classmate who cheated him out of a scholarship.The man has promised city leaders that he will move his business to Sparta,but not all of his business interests are legal.The nephew of an old friend of Gillespie's finds his life in danger after he steals drugs stored in the businessman's mansion.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 6 - Blind Spot (2)
    8.0/10(106 votes)

    #12 - Blind Spot (2)

    S1:E6

    An angry Gillespie seeks answers when an old friend is shot.And Virgil narrowly escapes death after trying to ascertain the real reason behind an old adversary's return to Sparta.Nan finds herself in danger after she finds out the truth about her new love.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. In the Heat of the Night Season 1 Episode 8 - ...And Then You Die
    8.0/10(133 votes)

    #13 - ...And Then You Die

    S1:E8

    The Sparta police search for a killer and his girlfriend.But the case becomes personal when they take Althea and the grandson of one of the victims hostage.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 1 - Don't Look Back (1)
    8.0/10(150 votes)

    #14 - Don't Look Back (1)

    S2:E1

    A copycat recreates a shocking unsolved murder from the past.Gillespie feels threatened after Ted Marcus suggests that Virgil should become the Chief.The situation becomes more tense after Virgil criticizes Parker and Bubba's actions.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 2 - Don't Look Back (2)
    8.0/10(121 votes)

    #15 - Don't Look Back (2)

    S2:E2

    Tibbs,Gillespie and Bubba pursue different leads in a bizarre murder case and the Chief realizes that the killer has plans for him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 3 - Family Secret
    8.0/10(132 votes)

    #16 - Family Secret

    S2:E3

    The murder of well respected man turns up a shocking secret about his family.

    Director:Lee H. Katzin
    Writer:Nancy Bond

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  17. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 5 - Prisoners
    8.0/10(144 votes)

    #17 - Prisoners

    S2:E5

    Sweet risks his life to prove that the Sheriff of a neighboring county is guilty of the racially motivated murder of a young man that Sweet was friends with in high school.

    Director:Russ Mayberry
    Writer:Lee Maddux

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  18. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 7 - Gunshots
    8.0/10(122 votes)

    #18 - Gunshots

    S2:E7

    Virgil is forced to shoot a suspect in an armed robbery.He has trouble dealing with the consequences of his actions, after he realizes the person he shot was a teenaged girl - and no one can locate the gun he believed she was pointing at him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 8 - Country Mouse, City Mouse
    8.0/10(138 votes)

    #19 - Country Mouse, City Mouse

    S2:E8

    Virgil's visiting niece and Bubba's nephew team up in an effort to escape the boredom of small town life.But they get more excitement than they bargained for when they cross paths with a dangerous parolee.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 9 - Stranger in Town
    8.0/10(101 votes)

    #20 - Stranger in Town

    S2:E9

    Gillespie suspects that JoAnn's new cook is connected to the murder of a young prostitute.But Virgil suspects the culprit maybe a local pimp who has been intimidating the women.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 12 - A.k.a Kelly Kay
    8.0/10(130 votes)

    #21 - A.k.a Kelly Kay

    S2:E12

    The past comes back to haunt JoAnn in the form of an escaped convict.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 14 - Intruders
    8.0/10(91 votes)

    #22 - Intruders

    S2:E14

    The police search for a burglar who preys on elderly women.And the prime suspect is the son of a city councilwoman.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 15 - The Creek
    8.0/10(101 votes)

    #23 - The Creek

    S2:E15

    The investigation of a possible assault brings back nightmarish and confusing childhood memories for Virgil.

    Director:Alexander Singer
    Writer:Jo William Phillip

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  24. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 16 - Sister, Sister
    8.0/10(112 votes)

    #24 - Sister, Sister

    S2:E16

    A vivacious socialites return to Sparta delights her ailing father and childhood friend Virgil, but her sister is less than thrilled at her homecoming.After their father is poisoned the jealous siblings become suspects in his murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. In the Heat of the Night Season 2 Episode 17 - Walkout
    8.0/10(98 votes)

    #25 - Walkout

    S2:E17

    A bitter strike leads to a murder investigation on a snowy day in Sparta.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"A Necessary Evil" is the best rated episode of "In the Heat of the Night". It scored 10/10 based on 136 votes. Directed by Winrich Kolbe and written by Unknown, it aired on 4/12/1988. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "A Trip Upstate".