The series is set in the Deep South community of Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, which is dominated and owned by the town's wealthy and powerful (and deceitful) bank owner "Boss" Will Varner.
Supporting characters include Jody Varner, Will's weak-willed but more honest son, and Clara, Will's sensible older daughter and lady of the house (in lieu of her late mother).
Other characters include the town's hotel owner Minnie Littlejohn, who is also Will's mistress, and Eula Johnson, a 17-year-old girl who becomes a central point in Jody's life after he picks her up during a rainstorm.
Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot Summer was based on the novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film.
The show retained the movie's theme song, "The Long, Hot Summer," written by Sammy Cahn and Alex North, and Jimmie Rodgers sang it for the series as he did for the film.