The connection of In the Heat of the Night

In the heat of the Night 

After watching this show for over 30-plus years, I can't believe this significant detail about this show.  I knew there was a movie called In the Heat of the Night, and this series came a number of years later.  The film came out in the late 60s, but the series came out in 88.  

I was under the impression that the show and movie were only related in concept and story, but they were never connected in continuity. It was just a remake in my eyes.  However, it was revealed in a YouTube video that the movie and the TV show are connected.  The show is a direct sequel to the first In the Heat of the Night movie but completely ignores the two sequels.  I had always viewed the series as Tibbs and Gillespie meeting for the first time.  I was wrong…

So, I went to YouTube and rewatched the first two episodes of the TV show.  They were right.  Mr. Tibbs and Chief Gillespie knew each other from the first movie.  Damn, that is interesting that this show is tied directly to the first movie.  They are very vague as to how much time has passed between the movie and the series.  It is a bit of a sliding scale.  Most series with this much of a time gap would just reboot or remake the series.