Conversation so far:
when did in the heat of the night come out
The TV series In the Heat of the Night initially aired on March 6, 1988
who are the main characters of the tv series in the heat of the night
The main characters of the TV series In the Heat of the Night are police chief Bill Gillespie and police detective Virgil Tibbs.

Question: who was the creator
Self-contained rewrite: who was the creator of the tv series in the heat of the night