Every season of In the Heat of the Night ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of In the Heat of the Night!

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.

Pilot (1)

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.

Pilot (2)

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.

Road Kill

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.

Fate

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.

Blind Spot (1)

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.

Blind Spot (2)

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.

A Necessary Evil

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.

...And Then You Die

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.

Don't Look Back (1)

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

Don't Look Back (2)

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

Family Secret

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.

The Hammer and the Glove

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.

Prisoners

Bubba is seduced by an alluring writer who has more on her mind than romance.Bill and Virgil worry that he is in over his head.Bubba tries to protect her from her estranged husband, but things get complicated after she shoots someone.

Hot Nights

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.

Gunshots

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.

Country Mouse, City Mouse

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.

Stranger in Town

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

Tear Down the Walls

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.

A Trip Upstate

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

A.k.a Kelly Kay

These Things Take Time

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

Intruders

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

The Creek

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.

Sister, Sister

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

Walkout

Bubba tries to rescue a woman from a rapist, but she mistakes him for her attacker.Gillespie tangles with an ambitious district attorney who plans to use the case to further his career.

Accused

Sparta grieves after a drunk driver causes a fatal crash with high school cheerleaders on their way home from a game.While the officers try to find other driver, Althea tries to help the victim's families deal with their loss. The accident brings back painful memories for retired officer Tom Dugan.Meanwhile, district attorney Dutton accuses the department of being inadequate.

Fifteen, Forever

With the Chief in Quantico Bubba and Virgil try to catch a serial arsonist.Things get complicated after a man dies in one of the fires.And Councilwoman White stirs things up by appointing Tom Dugan acting chief of police in Gillespie's absence.

Ladybug, Ladybug

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.

The Pig Woman of Sparta

Missing

After being released by his captors, the chief discovers that his abduction is part of a plot to assassinate a visiting civil rights leader.

Rape

Virgil struggles to help Althea after she is raped by a fellow teacher.Darnell does not think they can get a conviction because the man's wife has given him an alibi.Virgil tries to control his anger - until the man returns to intimidate Althea.And Gillespie tries to convince the wife to tell the truth.

Fairest of Them All

A beauty contest is marred by blackmail and the ambitious mother of a contestant.

Murder Most Ancient

An unhappy wife asks her lover to place a bomb in her abusive husband's truck.

First Girl

Sparta P.D. gets it's first black policewoman.

Crackdown

Someone is selling crack to teenagers and Sweet tries desperately to save a young addict.

Anniversary

After a private investigator searching for a missing child is found dead, the evidence points to a local dance teacher - a neighbor that Parker has become very fond of.

Time of the Stranger

An outlaw family seeks revenge against Bubba after he is forced to shoot one of them during a holdup.The chief wants him to stay out of sight until they are arrested - a suggestion that does not set well with Bubba.

Vengeance

A young refugee claims to be the son of a Sparta cop who died in the war.But quickly becomes a suspect in a murder/robbery after he accepts a ride with the criminals who actually committed the crime.Gillespie looks into his story, while Virgil and the boys track down the shooter.Meanwhile, the young mans presence triggers a surprisingly bitter reaction from  Parker, who views him as a painful reminder of the war.

My Name is Hank

The F.B.I. tries to talk an ex-boxer into testifying against a mobster he once worked for, but the fighter sees the situation as an opportunity for blackmail.

King's Ransom

A long time friend of the Chief makes threats against a doctor he believes is responsible for his wife's death .When the doctor is killed he becomes the prime suspect.But Gillespie doubts his guilt - even after he confesses.

Epitaph for a Lady

A man murders his wife and her lover after he catches them together,then flees to a remote cabin with his daughter who does not know what he has done.The chief and the boys hope to talk him into surrendering without resorting to violence.

Triangle

Bubba refuses to believe that a former teamate embezzled funds from the bank where he worked.And sets out to prove that his friend was framed and murdered.Harriet hopes that art therapy can help the man's traumatized son,who becomes a target himself when the killer realizes he witnessed the crime.

Hello in There

The Sparta police investigate a suspicious death in a nursing home.

December Days

Darnell plans on indicting a teenager for murder after her father is found in the basement and her mother turns up missing.But Gillespie and his men don't believe she is guilty.

A Loss of Innocence

Bubba's Baby

Maybelle the madam returns to Sparta with her "" nieces "".And sets up shop just out of Gillespie's jurisdiction.Her return is not without controversy and soon one of her most vocal critics is found murdered.

Home is Where The Heart Is

First the mother,then the father of two young children are murdered.Althea takes responsibility for the children. The killings appear to be related to a shady trucking firm.

An Angry Woman

Althea does not realize that an old friend from Philly is hiding a dark secret, nor does Sweet who has fallen in love with the  woman.

Indiscretions

Racial tensions run high when a white cabbie is murdered in the bottoms.

Night of the Killing

Harriet's sister is murdered on the orders of the wealthy white man who fathered her child.

Citizen Trundel (1)

Harriet's efforts to bring V.J. Trundel to trial are fruitless.The Chief does not believe they will ever get enough evidence to get an indictment,so he tries another method to bring Trundel to justice.

Citizen Trundel (2)

Virgil goes to Philadelphia to investigate a friends death.And Bubba (reluctantly) fills in as Althea's Lamaze coach.

Brotherly Love (1)

Virgil is framed for murder and Gillespie travels to Philly to help him clear his name.

Brotherly Love (2)

Gillespie sends Parker to confirm suspicions that a local truck stop is really a front for a prostitution business.When a young prostitute is found dead Gillespie is shocked at her fathers reaction.Parker is dismayed when he recognizes one of the ladies.

Lessons Learned

A mild mannered school teacher is accused of child molestation.

Perversions of Justice

Gillespie and his officers are outraged when a drug courier who ran down the son of Virgil's next door neighbor makes a deal with the F.B.I. to avoid prosecution.

And Justice For Some

Bubba is reunited with his high school sweetheart, but his happiness is short lived after she resorts to murder to silence an attorney who was threatening to stop her from inheriting her late husband's estate.

Hearts of Gold

The investigation into the death of an abandoned infant leads to a mentally handicapped teenager.

Quick Fix

A lawyer has personal reasons for trying to gain early release for a man who was sent to prison after an accident he caused while drinking and driving.

Homecoming

Harriet and Eugene are devastated after Gene's father is arrested for murder.

A Problem Too Personal

Sweet is heartbroken when an elderly woman who befriended him is murdered in her bookstore.

A Final Arrangement

Virgil's dream of a better relationship with his Aunt Ruda and her son is shattered when his cousin takes part in a string of burglaries that result in murder.

Family Matters

Gillespie receives word that a former Spartan is wanted for the murder of a socialite in Houston.But a ruthless bounty hunter, sent by the victim's jealous husband is already in Sparta and sees the man's sister as a means to locate his quarry.

Bounty Hunter

In this Christmas episode the officers share memories with a reporter from the Sparta Herald.

Blessings

A bottle of spiked moonshine leads to an accident that claims the life of one teen and blinds another.

Shine on Sparta Moon

A psychiatrist tells Gillespie that one of her patients has confessed to a crime that another man is about to be executed for, but she refuses to divulge his identity.

Execution of Trust

A story of two brothers one an honor student that Althea has great plans for, the other a dangerous drug dealer as they struggle to influence a younger sibling.

Child of Promise

Virgil soon regrets telling an old friend that his new business partners are being investigated by the police.

Paper Castles

Parker protects a blind woman who heard her neighbors murder.

Laid to Waste

First Deadly Sin

Bubba travels to Los Angeles to arrest an arsonist.When the man is murdered to keep him from talking Bubba teams up with a pretty insurance investigator to solve the crime.

Just A Country Boy

Harriet tries to keep Eugene from giving up when his father faces the death penalty.And the police search for three suspects in connection to a robbery/murder.

No Other Road

Althea thinks Virgil needs a new line of work after seeing the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a roadhouse.Virgil finds himself in danger when they arrest the man who committed the crime.

A Turning

Gillespie's old flame returns to Sparta to settle some business matters and see Bill. When she is murdered he travels to Gulfport and meets his daughter Lana for the first time.

A Woman Much Admired

After Bubba's cousin adopts a baby her husband is blackmailed by the child's real parents - they want him to help them steal the payroll where he works.

Baby for Sale

A flirtatious schoolteacher is stalked by a madman.

Obsession

A game of high stakes poker ends in murder.

Liar's Poker

Virgil's Aunt Ruda is the only witness to a struggle between Bubba and a young robbery suspect that ends in the young mans death.But her prejudice against the police -- and Virgil clouds her memory of the incident.

Ruda's Awakening

Bubba returns to Los Angeles to testify at a murder trial and is reunited with Pat Day as they try to protect Mike from killers sent to prevent him from testifying.

Unfinished Business

A man murders his business partner and frames the man's illegitimate daughter for the crime in an attempt to gain the man's business and his wife.

The More Thing's Change

The lyrics to a blues song recall a murder that happened 50 years earlier.The victim - Sweet's grandfather.And the only people left with the answers are the bluesman who wrote the song and a retired sheriff.

Sweet, Sweet Blues

A deputy provides protection for a cotton grower who is running a pot growing operation.But the deputy makes a big mistake when he wounds Bubba's girlfriend.

Sparta Gold

The father of a man Gerard prosecuted kidnaps the DA's daughter.

An Eye for an Eye

Lonnie makes a heartbreaking discovery about a woman he dated in high school.

The Littlest Victim

A drug dealing slumlord is murdered by his accomplices.

The Landlord

A doctor plots to eliminate his wife -- and his mistress.

Fool for Love

Parkers investigation into a purse snatching reveals an abused woman.

Love, Honor and Obey

Racists target a ceremony honoring a civil rights pioneer.

Odessa

Althea fears for one of her students after her mother's boyfriend is linked to a criminal operation that has resulted in the deaths of several truckers.

A Time to Trust

A restaurateur and her mechanic boyfriend plot to eliminate her husband, but their scheme backfires.Gillespie takes heat over a string of mailbox bashings.And Virgil soon regrets ignoring Parker's theory regarding where the vandals would strike next.

By Means Most Foul

V.J. Trundel's widow takes Harriet to court to gain custody of Eric.But Harriet is determined that her nephew will not be raised in the home of the man who ordered the murder of her sister.

Trundel's Will Be Done

Gillespie learns that the son of an old friend is a compulsive gambler.The young man wants his father to pay off his losses.But when two gangsters show up from New Orleans to collect, his jealous sibling sees the perfect opportunity to get rid of his troubled brother.

Moseley's Lot

An ex-convict attempts to retrieve his loot from his wife and her new husband in this tongue-in-cheek episode.

Family Reunion

A political prisoner who entered the country illegally,seeks sanctuary in a monastary.Gillespie and Tibbs find themselves at odds with Sheriff McComb when they try to help the man.

Sanctuary

Gillespie,Tibbs and Father DiMarco must stand trial for harbouring a fugitive and obstructing justice.

The Law on Trial

Big city crack dealers invade Sparta.Eugene witnesses the drive by shooting of a friend and his offer to help the police identify the shooters leaves Harriet frightened and angry at Bill.

A Small War (1)

The police wage war against the big city drug dealers who have moved into Sparta.Eugene identifies the men who murdered his friend.And Bubba is teamed with and intrigued by a lady police lieutenant from Jackson.

A Small War (2)

Louann's ne'er-do-well brother returns home after being paroled.

Brother's Keeper

Althea places herself in harms way trying to help one of her students, a disturbed and violent young man; after he is implicated in a murder case.

A Frenzied Affair

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.

The Best Seasons of In the Heat of the Night

The Best Seasons of In the Heat of the Night

Season 1

Season 3

Season 7

Season 8

Season 2

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6