In the Heat of the Night

In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. 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. Heat starred Carroll O'Connor as the white police chief William Gillespie, and Howard Rollins as the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. In the premiere episode, Tibbs, a Philadelphia police department detective, has returned to his childhood home for his mother's funeral. He is eventually persuaded by local politicians... to remain in Sparta, as they are desperate to improve the local squad's reputation of being anti-Black and underskilled. The show dealt with a variety of issues. These included racism, drug abuse, rape, AIDS, incest, government corruption, homophobia, and drunk driving, among others. The first season of the show was filmed in Hammond, Louisiana. There were many conflicts between the first executive producer, Juanita Bartlett, and series star Carroll O'Connor. A total of eight episodes were filmed.
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