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In the Heat of the Night

Name: In the Heat of the Night
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 1988-03-06
Cast: Carroll O'Connor, Alan Autry, David Hart, Hugh O'Connor, Crystal R. Fox

1988 | 8 seasons | 60 min | Crime, Drama

Sunday Safe Betearly rating

Why it’s a Sunday Safe Bet

It's still drawing plenty of interest. A safe bet when you want something reliable.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for crime-drama fans. If you loved Castle or Blue Bloods, start here.
The mood: Dark and gritty.
The pace: 8 seasons and 146 episodes: a long-haul commitment, hour-long episodes, about 146 hours in all.
What might put you off: A big time investment at 8 seasons.

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.

How it earned its rating

CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
Reach & staying powerSolid
Ran for 8 seasons and reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactStrong
About 335K people sought it out in the past year

Season by season

The show overall is a Sunday Safe Bet. Here's how each season stacks up; Season 4 is the high point.

Season 11988 · 8 episodes · 8.3 out of 10
Friday
Season 21988 · 22 episodes · 8.2 out of 10
Saturday
Season 31989 · 22 episodes · 7.5 out of 10
Sunday
Season 41990 · 22 episodes · 8.5 out of 10
Friday
Season 51991 · 22 episodes
Not rated yet
Season 61992 · 22 episodes
Not rated yet
Season 71993 · 24 episodes · 5.0 out of 10
Monday
Season 81994 · 4 episodes · 8.0 out of 10
Saturday

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Created by James Lee Barrett

Carroll O'ConnorBill Gillespie
Alan AutryBubba Skinner
David HartParker Williams
Hugh O'ConnorLonnie Jamison
Crystal R. FoxLuann Corbin
Denise NicholasHarriet DeLong
Carl WeathersHampton Forbes