Page "In the Heat of the Night (TV series)" Paragraph 5

Season two began airing in December 1988, due to a writers strike.

The series had a new look, and a new set of executive producers.

On-location shooting was moved from Louisiana to Covington, Georgia.

The season premiere was aired as a two-hour TV-movie, “ Don ’ t Look Back ”; the plot revolved around a copycat murder that Gillespie had investigated 20 years earlier.

It introduced two new regular characters: Joanne St. John ( played by Lois Nettleton ), the chief ’ s sometime-girlfriend and owner of the local diner ; and Officer Wilson Sweet ( played by Geoffrey Thorne ).

It also introduced the first of several new recurring characters: Doctor ( or, " Doc ") Robb, the county coroner ( played by veteran actor Dan Biggers ).

The episode " The Creek " saw the introduction of the first new police character " Officer Randy Goode " ( 1988 – 1993 ) played by Randall Franks cast following the show's move to Georgia introducing the second prominent Georgia performer to claim a regular role on the series.

Franks was already an established bluegrass music star performing for the Grand Ole Opry pursuing a new path.