The BEST episodes of In the Heat of the Night season 2

Every episode of In the Heat of the Night season 2, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of In the Heat of the Night season 2!

Based on the critically acclaimed novel and film of the same name, this series provides a hopeful, yet honest look at life in the new South. Set in the fictional Sparta, Mississippi, the show is a blend of heartfelt drama and folksy humor, portraying both the professional and personal pursuits of Sparta P.D's officers. Series star Carroll O'Connor, in a role far removed from Archie Bunker, served as executive producer. Using the pen name Matt Harris, O'Connor was also the story editor and wrote many of the episodes.

Last Updated: 9/11/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
star
8.64
14 votes

#1 - Missing

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/1989

Gillespie is kidnapped and Virgil believes that Tom Dugan is involved.

Directors: Alexander Singer
Writer: David Rupel
Watch Now:Amazon
star
8.36
28 votes

#2 - The Hammer and the Glove

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/13/1988

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.84
32 votes

#3 - The Family Secret

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/6/1988

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

Directors: Lee H. Katzin
Writer: Nancy Bond
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.83
18 votes

#4 - Tear Down the Walls

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/31/1989

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

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.80
30 votes

#5 - Don't Look Back (2)

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/4/1988

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

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
star
7.74
31 votes

#6 - Prisoners

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/20/1988

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.

Directors: Russ Mayberry
Writer: Lee Maddux
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.72
18 votes

#7 - Intruders

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/7/1989

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

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.72
39 votes

#8 - Don't Look Back (1)

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/4/1988

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.71
14 votes

#9 - The Pig Woman of Sparta

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/9/1989

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.

Writer: Marc Taylor
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.71
17 votes

#10 - Accused

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/4/1989

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.

Directors: Chuck Bowman
Writer: James Novack
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.70
20 votes

#11 - A Trip Upstate

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/7/1989

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.59
17 votes

#12 - Walkout

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/28/1989

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

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star
7.56
16 votes

#13 - A.k.a. Kelly Kay

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/14/1989

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

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star
7.56
16 votes

#14 - Fifteen, Forever

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/25/1989

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.54
28 votes

#15 - Hot Nights

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/27/1988

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.

Directors: Harry Harris
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
star
7.38
16 votes

#16 - Stranger in Town

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/17/1989

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.32
22 votes

#17 - Gunshot

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/3/1989

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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.23
13 votes

#18 - Ladybug, Ladybug

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/2/1989

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.

Directors: Alexander Singer
Writer: Terry Erwin
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.13
15 votes

#19 - These Things Take Time

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/21/1989

A teenage mother from an impoverished family is arrested for murder after her infant is found dead, but Virgil believes there is more to the case than meets the eye.Meanwhile Althea believes the situation could have been prevented if the school had offered sex education classes.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.13
15 votes

#20 - The Creek

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/14/1989

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

Directors: Alexander Singer
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.13
16 votes

#21 - Sister, Sister

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/21/1989

A vivacious socialite's 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.

Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.11
19 votes

#22 - Country Mouse, City Mouse

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/10/1989

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.

Watch Now:Amazon