# Night Heat

Night Heat is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. Night Heat was the first Canadian original drama series that was simultaneously aired on a United States television network during its original broadcast. It was also the first original, first-run drama series to be aired during a late night time slot on a television network in the United States.
During its original run it was the highest-rated Canadian-produced original series in Canada. The show won the Gemini Award for Best Drama Series in both 1986 and 1987.
The show stars Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott as police detectives Kevin O'Brien and Frank Giambone who work the graveyard shift in an unnamed northeastern North American metropolis. The series follows their nightly police beat as it is chronicled by journalist Tom Kirkwood (Allan Royal) in his newspaper column titled "Night Heat".

## Synopsis

Allan Royal plays Tom Kirkwood, a journalist who writes a newspaper column titled "Night Heat" where he chronicles the nightly police beat of detectives Kevin O'Brien, played by Scott Hylands, and Frank Giambone, played by Jeff Wincott. O'Brien is a tough, cynical, veteran police officer and Giambone is his younger, hot-tempered partner. Kirkwood also serves as the show's narrator; his voice-over commentary starts and ends each episode, recapping the lessons learned and acting as a sort of Greek chorus.
The name of the city in which the show takes place is never mentioned. Each episode represents a single night's shift and, as a result, crimes often remain unresolved by the end of the show.

## Cast
### Main

* Scott Hylands as Detective Kevin O'Brien
* Jeff Wincott as Detective Frank Giambone
* Allan Royal as columnist Thomas J. Kirkwood
* Sean McCann as Lieutenant James Hogan
* Eugene Clark as Detective Colby Burns
* Stephen Mendel as Detective Freddie Carson
* Susan Hogan as Nichole Rimbaud
* Louise Vallance as Detective Stephanie "Stevie" Brody (season 1 and part of season 2)

### Recurring

* Wendy Crewson as Prosecutor Dorothy Fredricks (first 6 episodes of season 1)
* Lynda Mason Green as Detective Fleece Toland (first 6 episodes of season 1)
* Tony Rosato as Arthur "Whitey" Morelli
* Clark Johnson as Detective David Jefferson
* Deborah Grover as Prosecutor Elaine Jeffers
* Laura McKinlay Robinson as Detective Christine Meadows
* Robert Morelli as Joey Sanza

## Production
### Concept and development

Night Heat was conceived by Sonny Grosso, a former New York City Police Department detective. Grosso served was the show's executive producer along with his partner, Larry Jacobson.
Grosso had over 20 years experience in law enforcement, later working as a narcotics detective. He and his former NYPD partner, Eddie Egan, were the detectives responsible for bringing an end to the infamous drug smuggling ring known as the French Connection. Grosso served as technical adviser on the film based on the investigation. He also worked as a consultant for the film The Godfather and as story editor for the TV series The Rockford Files, Kojak and Baretta.
Grosso and Jacobson were originally approached by CBS to produce a docudrama series following actual police officers, but they considered the potential risk in filming people who had not yet been convicted of a crime and decided against it. Grosso came up with the idea of creating a police series that would feature a realistic look at police work in a documentary style, similar to the 1950s/1960s police drama Naked City. He wanted to depict the life of the everyday police officer, in contrast to the slicker, high-action, high-drama, yuppie-oriented police series of the time such as Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues. The pilot episode was written by Don Flynn, a crime reporter with the New York Daily News.

### Filming

Grosso and Jacobson decided to produce their show in Toronto, Canada, otherwise the production costs would have been too expensive for CBS's late-night budget. At the time one could film in Toronto for less than half the cost of a major American city—Canadian union scale was lower and the American-to-Canadian dollar exchange rate was also favorable. The show featured an all-Canadian cast and crew and was partially funded by the Government of Canada. For Hylands, a 21-year veteran actor, frequently seen playing villains in U.S. TV shows during the 1970s and early 1980s, this was the first time he had been given a leading role, or the role of a "good guy."
The series was shot entirely at night between the hours of 6pm and 4am, which also made it easier to film since there was less traffic and it was easier to close down streets. The lower budget also meant that the show did not contain high speed car chases or shootouts with heavy calibre weapons. As a result, the show was more reliant on story and dialogue to capture audiences.
Night Heat was filmed on 16mm film using hand-held cameras, instead of the Hollywood-standard 35mm film, giving the series a grainy, documentary-style look. Much of the show was shot at the site of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, which served as the series' police station; described as a "grim and forbidding setting," the hospital fit in with the gritty look that the show's producer, Robert Lantos wanted.
Filming a police drama aimed at both Canadian and American audiences in an unidentified city presented a unique set of challenges: The crew had to avoid capturing shots of landmarks and other objects that would give away that it was not an American city, such as Toronto Police cars, Esso stations and the CN Tower. While much of the show's dialogue included American law-enforcement terminology (for example: they referred to police "precincts" instead of "divisions", and characters had ranks such as officers, detectives and lieutenants instead of constables, sergeants and inspectors), they avoided terms from the American criminal justice system such as "grand jury" or "district attorney". In addition, the officers were never seen reading Miranda rights to suspects since there is no Miranda law in Canada. The writers also made a concerted effort to avoid using words that Canadians have a distinctive way of pronouncing, such as the words "out" and "about". Given Toronto's relative cleanliness when compared to larger American cities, the film crew would sometimes throw additional garbage onto the set during street scenes. Grosso, Hylands and Jacobson have all said in separate interviews that there was a time when the garbage that they had strewn about for a Night Heat shoot had been cleaned-up by city sanitation crews while the film crew was on break.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 24 | 24 | January 31, 1985 (1985-01-31) | January 9, 1986 (1986-01-09) |
| 2 | 24 | 24 | January 30, 1986 (1986-01-30) | January 15, 1987 (1987-01-15) |
| 3 | 24 | 24 | February 5, 1987 (1987-02-05) | January 7, 1988 (1988-01-07) |
| 4 | 24 | 24 | January 14, 1988 (1988-01-14) | January 5, 1989 (1989-01-05) |

### Season 1 (1985–86)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Crossfire" | Gerald Mayer | Edward Adler | January 31, 1985 (1985-01-31) |
| An elusive cop killer looking to avenge the death of his 7-year-old daughter may be gunning for Kevin and Lt. Hogan. Note: First aired episode. A young Keanu Reeves and a young Cree Summer make appearances, as a television thief and a daughter of a cop, respectively. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Necessary Force" | Mario Azzopardi | William Levinson | February 7, 1985 (1985-02-07) |
| While chasing two criminals down an alley, Frank shoots one of them claiming he was holding a gun. But a search of the area turns up a flashlight. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Deadline" | George Kaczender | R.B. Carney | February 14, 1985 (1985-02-14) |
| After a woman is raped inside her home, her unwillingness to identify her attacker stalemates the case. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Stranger" | René Bonnière | Ian Sutherland | February 21, 1985 (1985-02-21) |
| Continuing from "Deadline"; a very nervous woman (Jeannie Elias) walking in the park is afraid she might be the next rape victim. She runs away from an alleged attacker. The man (Chuck Shamata) is picked up and taken in for questioning. It was all just a misunderstanding and he is released, but when the woman is found murdered later that same night, the detectives are faced with proving the suspect guilty of multiple murder. ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Obie's Law" | George McCowan | Don Flynn & Sonny Grosso (story), Philip Rosenberg (teleplay) | February 28, 1985 (1985-02-28) |
| In the series' pilot, Detectives Kevin O'Brien and Frank Giambone go after the hood (Nicholas Campbell) who's supplying weapons for local holdups. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Witness" | Mario Azzopardi | Philip Rosenberg | March 7, 1985 (1985-03-07) |
| Continuing from "Obie's Law," Frank and Kevin try to protect a photographer (Matsu Anderson) who recorded a gangland killing. ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Deadlock" | Mario Azzopardi | Philip Rosenberg | May 2, 1985 (1985-05-02) |
| While out on a date, Frank and Stevie catch a suspect involved in a robbery and discover he is wanted for murder as well; punk siblings lay siege to Mid-South and threaten to blow it up. Note: First appearances of Det. Stevie Brody and Prosecutor Elaine Jeffers. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Ancient Madness" | Al Waxman | Stuart Rosenberg | May 9, 1985 (1985-05-09) |
| Mid-South is assigned to protect an Irish terrorist who's the key witness in a gun-smuggling trial; after a philosophical clash with Kevin, the man is shot. ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Velvet" | René Bonnière | R.B. Carney | May 16, 1985 (1985-05-16) |
| After the lead singer of the punk rock group dies from a cocaine overdose, Kevin and Frank investigate the case as a murder; Frank later learns that an old girlfriend (Michele Scarabelli) is tied to the main suspect. Note: First appearance of Det. Dave Jefferson. ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Fifth Man" | Mario Azzopardi | Ian Sutherland | May 23, 1985 (1985-05-23) |
| The Feds get involved in an investigation into two suspected suicides. ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Jane the Ripper" | Mario Azzopardi | Tim Dunphy & Peter Mohan | September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) |
| The detectives search for a psychotic hooker (Jennifer Dale) responsible for a series of slasher murders. ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Dead to Rights" | Mario Azzopardi | Stuart Rosenberg | October 3, 1985 (1985-10-03) |
| The grisly murders of a father and daughter point to the family's son. ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Quest" | George Kaczender | Peter Palliser | October 10, 1985 (1985-10-10) |
| Kevin tracks the drug dealer who wounded him and stole his revolver during a drug sting. ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Power Play" | George Kaczender | Stuart Rosenberg | October 17, 1985 (1985-10-17) |
| The detectives probe an arson-murder involving an uninsured apartment house. ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Game" | George Kaczender | Tim Dunphy & Peter Mohan | October 24, 1985 (1985-10-24) |
| A poker game turns deadly. Note: First appearance of Det. Christine Meadows. ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Mother's Day" | Mario Azzopardi | Ian Sutherland | October 31, 1985 (1985-10-31) |
| Nursing-home residents are being victimized by a scammer (Janet-Laine Green). ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Poison" | Mario Azzopardi | R.B. Carney | November 7, 1985 (1985-11-07) |
| While covering a union strike at a local plant, Tom is witness to a security guard being fatally stabbed. ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Snow White" | Mario Azzopardi | Edward Adler | November 14, 1985 (1985-11-14) |
| A mentally challenged girl witnesses a murder in the park. ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Secrets" | René Bonnière | Ron Base | November 21, 1985 (1985-11-21) |
| A movie star's (Megan Trotter) comeback coincides with the murders of her confidants. ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Songbird" | René Bonnière | R.B. Carney | November 28, 1985 (1985-11-28) |
| The hunt for a priceless statue teams Kevin with an insurance investigator (Linda Sorenson) he once romanced. ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "The Source" | George Kaczender | Don Flynn | December 2, 1985 (1985-12-02) |
| The murder of his reporter-protégé (Carl Marotte) puts Tom on the hot seat. ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Innocents" | Allan Eastman | Bruce Martin | December 26, 1985 (1985-12-26) |
| A businessman abnormally interested in little girls (Robin Ward) may have the answers to a missing-children case. ||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Fire and Ice" | Mario Azzopardi | Stuart Rosenberg | January 2, 1986 (1986-01-02) |
| Colby believes his brother (Philip Akin) may hold the key to a gem theft-murder case. Note: Both Allan Royal (Tom Kirkwood) and Susan Hogan (Nicole) are absent in this episode, although the former's voice is still heard. ||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Brotherhood" | Mario Azzopardi | Ian Sutherland | January 9, 1986 (1986-01-09) |
| When the leading opposition candidate to head the nation's most powerful union (Mario DiIorio) is gunned down, the current corrupt president (Joe Spinell) is suspected. ||||||

### Season 2 (1986–87)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 25 | 1 | "The Hero" | René Bonnière | R.B. Carney | January 30, 1986 (1986-01-30) |
| 26 | 2 | "Dead Ringer" | Mario Azzopardi | Tim Dunphy & Peter Mohan | February 6, 1986 (1986-02-06) |
| 27 | 3 | "Neighbors" | René Bonnière | Ian Sutherland | February 13, 1986 (1986-02-13) |
| 28 | 4 | "Payday" | Mario Azzopardi | Lionel E. Siegel | February 20, 1986 (1986-02-20) |
| 29 | 5 | "The Legendary Eddie Shore" | George Mendeluk | William Davidson | April 17, 1986 (1986-04-17) |
| 30 | 6 | "The Passenger" | Mario Azzopardi | Ian Sutherland | April 24, 1986 (1986-04-24) |
| 31 | 7 | "Moonlight" | Mario Azzopardi | Tim Dunphy & Peter Mohan | May 1, 1986 (1986-05-01) |
| 32 | 8 | "The Fighter" | Joseph L. Scanlan | R.B. Carney | May 15, 1986 (1986-05-15) |
| 33 | 9 | "Showdown" | Mario Azzopardi | Tim Dunphy & Peter Mohan | May 22, 1986 (1986-05-22) |
| 34 | 10 | "Friends" | George Kaczender | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | July 30, 1986 (1986-07-30) |
| 35 | 11 | "Wages of Sin" | Mario Azzopardi | Roy Sallows | September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25) |
| 36 | 12 | "The Hit" | Mario Azzopardi | R.B. Carney | October 2, 1986 (1986-10-02) |
| 37 | 13 | "Trapped" | René Bonnière | Gabrielle St. George | October 9, 1986 (1986-10-09) |
| 38 | 14 | "Children of the Night" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | October 16, 1986 (1986-10-16) |
| 39 | 15 | "Pride and Prejudice" | Allan Eastman | Bruce Martin | October 23, 1986 (1986-10-23) |
| 40 | 16 | "Another Country" | Mario Azzopardi | Stuart Rosenberg | October 30, 1986 (1986-10-30) |
| 41 | 17 | "Every Picture Tells a Story" | René Bonnière | Bruce Martin | November 6, 1986 (1986-11-06) |
| 42 | 18 | "Fighting Back" | George Mendeluk | William Davidson | November 13, 1986 (1986-11-13) |
| 43 | 19 | "Bad Timing" | Donald Shebib | Bruce Martin | November 20, 1986 (1986-11-20) |
| 44 | 20 | "The Movement" | George Mendeluk | Peter Mohan | November 27, 1986 (1986-11-27) |
| 45 | 21 | "Body Conscious" | Allan Eastman | Gabrielle St. George | December 4, 1986 (1986-12-04) |
| 46 | 22 | "The Switch" | Jorge Montesi | Laurel L. Russwurm & Donald Ayres | January 1, 1987 (1987-01-01) |
| 47 | 23 | "Masquerade" | René Bonnière | Rob Forsyth | January 8, 1987 (1987-01-08) |
| 48 | 24 | "The Beaumont Line" | René Bonnière | Rob Forsyth | January 15, 1987 (1987-01-15) |

### Season 3 (1987–88)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 49 | 1 | "Love You to Death" | George Mendeluk | Gabrielle St. George | February 5, 1987 (1987-02-05) |
| 50 | 2 | "Vantage Point" | Donald Shebib | Peter Mohan | February 12, 1987 (1987-02-12) |
| 51 | 3 | "Play the Game" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | February 19, 1987 (1987-02-19) |
| 52 | 4 | "Punk" | René Bonnière | Ian Sutherland | February 19, 1987 (1987-02-19) |
| 53 | 5 | "Beauty is as Beauty Does" | Mario Azzopardi | Stuart Rosenberg | April 30, 1987 (1987-04-30) |
| 54 | 6 | "You're on the Air" | René Bonnière | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | May 7, 1987 (1987-05-07) |
| 55 | 7 | "And Baby Makes Grief" | Donald Shebib | Stuart Rosenberg | May 21, 1987 (1987-05-21) |
| 56 | 8 | "All the King's Horses" | René Bonnière | Stuart Rosenberg | August 4, 1987 (1987-08-04) |
| 57 | 9 | "Grace" | George Mendeluk | Rob Forsyth | August 11, 1987 (1987-08-11) |
| 58 | 10 | "The Kid" | Mario Azzopardi | R.B. Carney | August 18, 1987 (1987-08-18) |
| 59 | 11 | "Flashback" | Martin Daniels | R.B. Carney | August 25, 1987 (1987-08-25) |
| 60 | 12 | "Tell Me a Story" | René Bonnière | Rob Forsyth | September 1, 1987 (1987-09-01) |
| When a promiscuous young woman is assaulted and killed, detectives Giambone and O'Brien have a variety of suspects to choose from: the victim's half-witted brother, a writer turned martial arts cult leader (David Carradine), and one of his overeager followers. But it seems that life is literally imitating literary art. ||||||
| 61 | 13 | "Comeback" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | September 8, 1987 (1987-09-08) |
| 62 | 14 | "The Pimp" | Mario Azzopardi | R.B. Carney | September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24) |
| 63 | 15 | "Limo" | Timothy Bond | Laurel L. Russwurm & Donald Ayres | October 1, 1987 (1987-10-01) |
| 64 | 16 | "Mean Business" | Miklos Lente | Peter Yurksaitis | October 8, 1987 (1987-10-08) |
| 65 | 17 | "Tonight's News" | George Mendeluk | R.B. Carney | October 15, 1987 (1987-10-15) |
| 66 | 18 | "Simon Says" | Jorge Montesi | Allan Royal & Linda Shier | October 22, 1987 (1987-10-22) |
| 67 | 19 | "The Victim" | George Mendeluk | Ian Sutherland | October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) |
| 68 | 20 | "The Cost of Doing Business" | Donald Shebib | Giles Blunt | November 5, 1987 (1987-11-05) |
| 69 | 21 | "These Happy Golden Years" | George Mendeluk | Rob Forsyth | November 12, 1987 (1987-11-12) |
| 70 | 22 | "The Wiseguy" | Donald Shebib | Peter Mohan | November 19, 1987 (1987-11-19) |
| 71 | 23 | "Freedom Dead" | Jorge Montesi | Clive Endersby | November 26, 1987 (1987-11-26) |
| 72 | 24 | "Vengeance" | Jorge Montesi | Bruce Martin | January 7, 1988 (1988-01-07) |

### Season 4 (1988–89)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 73 | 1 | "Silk" | Timothy Bond | Rob Forsyth | January 14, 1988 (1988-01-14) |
| 74 | 2 | "Chinatown" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Palliser | January 21, 1988 (1988-01-21) |
| 75 | 3 | "Ain't No Cure for Love" | Randy Bradshaw | Jeremy Hole | February 4, 1988 (1988-02-04) |
| 76 | 4 | "Woof" | Jorge Montesi | Ian Sutherland | February 11, 1988 (1988-02-11) |
| 77 | 5 | "Whitey's Run" | Miklos Lente | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | February 18, 1988 (1988-02-18) |
| 78 | 6 | "Blowing Bubbles" | George Mendeluk | Rob Forsyth | February 25, 1988 (1988-02-25) |
| 79 | 7 | "None Shall Sleep" | Jorge Montesi | Gerry Davis | April 21, 1988 (1988-04-21) |
| 80 | 8 | "Forgive Me Father" | George Kaczender | Gabrielle St. George | April 28, 1988 (1988-04-28) |
| 81 | 9 | "The Better Part of Valor" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Mohan | May 5, 1988 (1988-05-05) |
| 82 | 10 | "The Privilege of Freedom" | Clay Borris | Glenn Norman | May 12, 1988 (1988-05-12) |
| 83 | 11 | "Set for Life" | Jorge Montesi | Rob Forsyth | May 19, 1988 (1988-05-19) |
| 84 | 12 | "Bogota Blues" | Jorge Montesi | Jorge Montesi & Peter Haynes | September 22, 1988 (1988-09-22) |
| 85 | 13 | "Bless Me Father" | George Mendeluk | George Mendeluk | September 29, 1988 (1988-09-29) |
| 86 | 14 | "The Mercenary" | Donald Shebib | Ian Sutherland | October 6, 1988 (1988-10-06) |
| 87 | 15 | "False Witness" | George Mendeluk | Chris Haddock | October 13, 1988 (1988-10-13) |
| 88 | 16 | "Archie's Riff" | Randy Bradshaw | Jeremy Hole | October 20, 1988 (1988-10-20) |
| 89 | 17 | "Goodbodies" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Lauterman & Angelo Stea | October 27, 1988 (1988-10-27) |
| 90 | 18 | "Ice" | Jorge Montesi | Peter Mohan | November 3, 1988 (1988-11-03) |
| 91 | 19 | "Jumper" | Miklos Lente | R.B. Carney | November 10, 1988 (1988-11-10) |
| 92 | 20 | "The Professional" | Scott Hylands | Tim Dunphy | November 17, 1988 (1988-11-17) |
| 93 | 21 | "The Wrong Woman" | Jorge Montesi | Ian Adams | November 24, 1988 (1988-11-24) |
| 94 | 22 | "No Regrets" | Gilbert M. Shilton | Peter Mohan, Chris Haddock and Jeremy Hole | December 1, 1988 (1988-12-01) |
| 95 | 23 | "Elaine" | René Bonnière | Jeff King | December 29, 1988 (1988-12-29) |
| 96 | 24 | "Blues in a Bottle" | Mario Azzopardi | Peter Mohan, Chris Haddock and Jeremy Hole | January 5, 1989 (1989-01-05) |

## Broadcast

CBS aired Night Heat as part of CBS Late Night, a late-night block of drama programming. It marked the first time in 20 years that CBS had slotted a first-run series against The Tonight Show. For six weeks in the summer of 1987 CBS moved the show to a 9pm slot, making it the first time that a Canadian drama series was shown on a major US network in prime time since Encounter, a short-lived ABC anthology series broadcast live out of the CBC's Toronto studios in the fall of 1958.
In late 1988, CBS announced it had officially canceled Night Heat. In spite of the show's popularity, CBS decided that it could get even better ratings in the late-night timeslot with The Pat Sajak Show, a talk show fronted by Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak. Over a fourth of CBS's affiliates expressed more interest in running the Sajak program than continuing to run Night Heat and the last episode aired on CBS in January 1989 even though CTV still had a full season on film that had yet to be aired.
After the series was canceled, reruns continued to air on CBS for another two years, and on Canadian television well into the early 2000s.

## Reception
### Ratings

Night Heat received good ratings for CBS; the show drew an average of 20% of TV viewers in its timeslot and at times the show even outperformed NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in such markets as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.
In Canada Night Heat attracted a million viewers a week. Critics in Canada were generally enthusiastic about Night Heat and were proud of the fact that it was being shown on American television. Critics such as Rick Salutin of The Globe and Mail expressed disappointment that the show hid or downplayed the fact that it was Canadian in order to appeal to US audiences: "they never say it's Toronto. It's just the city."

### Accolades

Night Heat won the award for Best Drama Series at the 1986 Gemini Awards. At the 1987 Gemini Awards the series again won the award for Best Drama Series, actor Eugene Clark won the award for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor and writer Bob Carney won the award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series for the episode titled "The Hit". Night Heat also won the 1987 Gemini award in the category of TV Guide's Most Popular Program, an award based on ballots submitted by the magazine's readers in Canada.
At the 1988 Gemini Awards writers Tim Dunphy and Peter Mohan won the award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series and Night Heat again won TV Guide's Most Popular Program award. In 1989 the series writer Chris Haddock won the Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series for the episode titled "False Witness".