In The Heat Of The Night

When Althea Tibbs is raped by a fellow teacher, the Sparta police find it difficult to get a conviction because the man's loyal wife has given him an alibi. Virgil desperately wants to avenge Althea's assault and is forced to a near breaking point.

When a young beauty queen contestant, Dina Raines (Diane Almeida), commits suicide, Sparta Police Chief Gillespie (Carroll O'Connor) and Virgil Tibbs (Howard Rollins) investigate the background of the contestant and make a startling discovery.

A woman murders her wealthy, abusive husband with the help of her lover. All appears to be working according to their plan, until the initial evidence points to her stepson as the main suspect; however, as more evidence emerges, the focus shifts.

When Christine Rankin, the first Black female officer on the Sparta police force, is killed during the capture of a murder suspect, the city council makes plans to suspend Gillespie, but he voluntarily steps down and sets out to get justice.

As the arrests grow, Gillespie, Tibbs and the Sparta police force are desperate to halt the spread of crack cocaine among the young people of their town, and no one is more motivated than Officer Willson Sweet, whose cousin died from using the drug.

Gillespie is let go after being abducted by white supremacists right before the upcoming visit of a civil rights leader, Rev. John Carter, and the anniversary of a historic march. Tibbs is excited to meet Carter, but Gillespie anticipates trouble.

Officer Parker Williams must face his feelings when his neighbor, a dance instructor he's fallen for, is accused of killing a private investigator who was hot on her trail regarding the alleged abduction of the child she's raising as her daughter.

Two men are determined to avenge their brother's death after he is killed in a thwarted armed robbery by an off-duty Lieutenant Bubba Skinner. Chief Gillespie must prepare to do all he can to keep Bubba safe. Now, he just needs Bubba to cooperate.

While hitchhiking his way to Sparta to visit Chief Gillespie, a Vietnamese teenager, Hank, witnesses a store robbery that turns into a murder. Hank was hoping that Gillespie would help him acquire citizenship, but now he's being framed for murder.

Ex-prizefighter, King Baylor, tries to blackmail his old boss, John Caminetto, a mafia kingpin in Detroit, who is wanted by the FBI. The FBI offers Baylor a deal, but he's desperate for cash and thinks he can force Caminetto to pay a bigger sum.

Amos Haber, a close friend of Chief Gillespie's, is devastated over the death of his wife and angrily blames her doctor, vowing revenge. When the doctor is found shot to death, the bullets match a gun belonging to Amos, but is Amos the killer?

A mild-mannered Sparta businessman shoots his wife and her lover and then flees with his daughter, holding her hostage in the family cabin out in the woods. The Sparta police must move with caution in fear he may shoot his daughter and then himself.

After $100,000 goes missing from the bank where he works, Daryl Tyler, a friend of Bubba's, is framed for theft and kills himself. Only his young son knows the truth that could clear his late father's name; however, for now, he won't say a word.

Althea Tibbs finds Lydia Crane, an elderly resident of a local nursing home, wandering along the railroad tracks in the early morning hours. Ms. Crane informs Chief Gillespie that a murder has taken place at the home, and she fears she is next.

When Sgt. Lonnie Jamison picks up Jana Craven and her friends for cutting school, a simple truancy bust turns into a complicated murder case for the Sparta police involving the disappearance of Jana's mother, Colleen, and her abusive father, Frank.

Someone mysteriously leaves a baby on Lieutenant Bubba Skinner's doorstep. When the Sparta police search for the mother, they uncover a car submerged in a lake and the dead body of the baby's mother inside, but who and where is the baby's father?

A conservative minister is murdered while trying to close down a traveling bordello operating near his church, but a surprising side of the man is revealed when the Sparta police investigate his death and, later, his wife's. Diane Ladd guest stars.

After an employee of the high school is a no-show for work, it is discovered her car was run off the road by the driver of a semi-truck, resulting in her death. Later, the prime suspect, her ex-husband, is also murdered. Who wanted them both dead?

After her involvement in a crime committed in Philadelphia, Regina, an old friend of Althea's runs to Sparta. She stays with Althea and sparks fly with Officer Sweet, but her past catches up when a dead body is found, and it's connected to her.

Tibbs is convinced that the right man is in custody for the recent murder in the Bottoms of a cab driver. The initial evidence points to his suspect, but Gillespie has his doubts and asks Tibbs to consider that race may be a factor in his choice.

Sparta Councilperson Harriet DeLong’s sister, Natalie, is found murdered, and Chief Gillespie has a suspect in mind, but it happens to be the most powerful man in town, so he’s keeping it quiet as he builds a case, much to the frustration of Tibbs.

Harriet DeLong is determined to bring her sister Natalie's killer to justice and decides to try handling things on her own. Meanwhile, the murder of Jay Turkus causes Gillespie and Tibbs to concentrate on V.J. Trundel and his devious staff.