diff --git a/docker/k8s/vtctlclient/Dockerfile b/docker/k8s/vtctlclient/Dockerfile
index 0315e572483..1af7e5ae076 100644
--- a/docker/k8s/vtctlclient/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/k8s/vtctlclient/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 FROM vitess/base AS base
 FROM debian:stretch-slim
 COPY --from=base /vt/bin/vtctlclient /usr/bin/
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get upgrade -qq && \
+    apt-get install jq -qq --no-install-recommends && \
+    apt-get autoremove && \
+    apt-get clean && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 CMD ["/usr/bin/vtctlclient"]
diff --git a/helm/vitess/templates/_helpers.tpl b/helm/vitess/templates/_helpers.tpl
index 4d2233c7e08..6a03c9677c5 100644
--- a/helm/vitess/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/helm/vitess/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -11,6 +11,17 @@
 {{end -}}
 {{- end -}}
 
+#############################
+# Repeat a string N times, where N is the total number
+# of replicas. Len must be used on the calling end to
+# get an int
+#############################
+{{- define "tablet-count" -}}
+{{- range . -}}
+{{- repeat (int .vttablet.replicas) "x" -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end -}}
+
 #############################
 # Format a list of flag maps into a command line.
 #############################
diff --git a/helm/vitess/templates/_orchestrator-conf.tpl b/helm/vitess/templates/_orchestrator-conf.tpl
index 5fc03569522..1f2e101c592 100644
--- a/helm/vitess/templates/_orchestrator-conf.tpl
+++ b/helm/vitess/templates/_orchestrator-conf.tpl
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 # set tuple values to more recognizable variables
 {{- $orc := index . 0 -}}
 {{- $namespace := index . 1 -}}
+{{- $enableHeartbeat := index . 2 -}}
 
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: ConfigMap
@@ -117,7 +118,11 @@ data:
     "ReduceReplicationAnalysisCount": true,
     "RejectHostnameResolvePattern": "",
     "RemoveTextFromHostnameDisplay": ".mydomain.com:3306",
+{{ if $enableHeartbeat }}
     "ReplicationLagQuery": "SELECT unix_timestamp() - floor(ts/1000000000) FROM `_vt`.heartbeat ORDER BY ts DESC LIMIT 1;",
+{{ else }}
+    "ReplicationLagQuery": "",
+{{ end }}    
     "ServeAgentsHttp": false,
     "SkipBinlogEventsContaining": [
     ],
diff --git a/helm/vitess/templates/_vttablet.tpl b/helm/vitess/templates/_vttablet.tpl
index 0f8de94150a..37a8d48d134 100644
--- a/helm/vitess/templates/_vttablet.tpl
+++ b/helm/vitess/templates/_vttablet.tpl
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ spec:
 {{- $config := index . 7 -}}
 {{- $pmm := index . 8 -}}
 {{- $orc := index . 9 -}}
+{{- $totalTabletCount := index . 10 -}}
 
 # sanitize inputs to create tablet name
 {{- $cellClean := include "clean-label" $cell.name -}}
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ spec:
 {{- $shardClean := include "clean-label" $shard.name -}}
 {{- $uid := "$(cat /vtdataroot/tabletdata/tablet-uid)" }}
 {{- $setName := printf "%s-%s-%s-%s" $cellClean $keyspaceClean $shardClean $tablet.type | lower -}}
+{{- $shardName := printf "%s-%s-%s" $cellClean $keyspaceClean $shardClean | lower -}}
 
 {{- with $tablet.vttablet -}}
 
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ spec:
 
       containers:
 {{ include "cont-mysql" (tuple $topology $cell $keyspace $shard $tablet $defaultVttablet $uid) | indent 8 }}
-{{ include "cont-vttablet" (tuple $topology $cell $keyspace $shard $tablet $defaultVttablet $vitessTag $uid $namespace $config $orc) | indent 8 }}
+{{ include "cont-vttablet" (tuple $topology $cell $keyspace $shard $tablet $defaultVttablet $vitessTag $uid $namespace $config $orc $totalTabletCount) | indent 8 }}
 {{ include "cont-mysql-errorlog" . | indent 8 }}
 {{ include "cont-mysql-slowlog" . | indent 8 }}
 {{ if $pmm.enabled }}{{ include "cont-pmm-client" (tuple $pmm $namespace) | indent 8 }}{{ end }}
@@ -140,6 +142,96 @@ spec:
       shard: {{ $shardClean | quote }}
       type: {{ $tablet.type | quote }}
 
+{{ if eq $tablet.type "replica" }}
+---
+###################################
+# vttablet InitShardMaster Job
+###################################
+apiVersion: batch/v1
+kind: Job
+metadata:
+  name: {{ $shardName }}-init-shard-master
+spec:
+  backoffLimit: 0
+  template:
+    spec:
+      restartPolicy: OnFailure
+      containers:
+      - name: init-shard-master
+        image: "vitess/vtctlclient:{{$vitessTag}}"
+
+        command: ["bash"]
+        args:
+          - "-c"
+          - |
+            set -ex
+
+            VTCTLD_SVC=vtctld.{{ $namespace }}:15999
+            SECONDS=0
+            TIMEOUT_SECONDS=600
+
+            # poll every 5 seconds to see if vtctld is ready
+            until vtctlclient -server $VTCTLD_SVC ListAllTablets {{ $cellClean }} > /dev/null 2>&1; do 
+              if (( $SECONDS > $TIMEOUT_SECONDS )); then
+                echo "timed out waiting for vtctlclient to be ready"
+                exit 1
+              fi
+              sleep 5
+            done
+
+            until [ $TABLETS_READY ]; do
+              # get all the tablets in the current cell
+              cellTablets="$(vtctlclient -server $VTCTLD_SVC ListAllTablets {{ $cellClean }})"
+              
+              # filter to only the tablets in our current shard
+              shardTablets=$( echo "$cellTablets" | awk 'substr( $5,1,{{ len $shardName }} ) == "{{ $shardName }}" {print $0}')
+
+              # check for a master tablet from the ListAllTablets call
+              masterTablet=$( echo "$shardTablets" | awk '$4 == "master" {print $1}')
+              if [ $masterTablet ]; then
+                  echo "'$masterTablet' is already the master tablet, exiting without running InitShardMaster"
+                  exit
+              fi
+
+              # check for a master tablet from the GetShard call
+              master_alias=$(vtctlclient -server $VTCTLD_SVC GetShard {{ $keyspaceClean }}/{{ $shard.name }} | jq '.master_alias.uid')
+              if [ $master_alias != "null" ]; then
+                  echo "'$master_alias' is already the master tablet, exiting without running InitShardMaster"
+                  exit
+              fi
+
+              # count the number of newlines for the given shard to get the tablet count
+              tabletCount=$( echo "$shardTablets" | wc | awk '{print $1}')
+              
+              # check to see if the tablet count equals the expected tablet count
+              if [ $tabletCount == {{ $totalTabletCount }} ]; then
+                TABLETS_READY=true
+              else
+                if (( $SECONDS > $TIMEOUT_SECONDS )); then
+                  echo "timed out waiting for tablets to be ready"
+                  exit 1
+                fi
+                
+                # wait 5 seconds for vttablets to continue getting ready
+                sleep 5
+              fi
+
+            done
+
+            # find the tablet id for the "-replica-0" stateful set for a given cell, keyspace and shard
+            tablet_id=$( echo "$shardTablets" | awk 'substr( $5,1,{{ add (len $shardName) 10 }} ) == "{{ $shardName }}-replica-0" {print $1}')
+            
+            # initialize the shard master
+            until vtctlclient -server $VTCTLD_SVC InitShardMaster -force {{ $keyspaceClean }}/{{ $shard.name }} $tablet_id; do 
+              if (( $SECONDS > $TIMEOUT_SECONDS )); then
+                echo "timed out waiting for InitShardMaster to succeed"
+                exit 1
+              fi
+              sleep 5
+            done
+            
+{{- end -}}
+
 {{- end -}}
 {{- end -}}
 
@@ -244,6 +336,7 @@ spec:
 {{- $namespace := index . 8 -}}
 {{- $config := index . 9 -}}
 {{- $orc := index . 10 -}}
+{{- $totalTabletCount := index . 11 -}}
 
 {{- $cellClean := include "clean-label" $cell.name -}}
 {{- with $tablet.vttablet -}}
@@ -321,10 +414,14 @@ spec:
         -db-config-filtered-uname "vt_filtered"
         -db-config-filtered-dbname "vt_{{$keyspace.name}}"
         -db-config-filtered-charset "utf8"
-        -enable_semi_sync
         -enable_replication_reporter
-{{ if $orc.enabled }}
+{{ if $defaultVttablet.enableSemisync }}
+        -enable_semi_sync
+{{ end }}
+{{ if $defaultVttablet.enableHeartbeat }}
         -heartbeat_enable
+{{ end }}
+{{ if $orc.enabled }}
         -orc_api_url "http://orchestrator.{{ $namespace }}/api"
         -orc_discover_interval "5m"
 {{ end }}
@@ -475,4 +572,4 @@ affinity:
             app: "vitess"
             component: "vttablet"
 
-{{- end -}}
\ No newline at end of file
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/helm/vitess/templates/vitess.yaml b/helm/vitess/templates/vitess.yaml
index 407c855d99d..521bd188100 100644
--- a/helm/vitess/templates/vitess.yaml
+++ b/helm/vitess/templates/vitess.yaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 {{ include "orchestrator" (tuple $.Values.orchestrator) }}
 ---
 # create orchestrator config map
-{{ include "orchestrator-config" (tuple $.Values.orchestrator $.Release.Namespace) }}
+{{ include "orchestrator-config" (tuple $.Values.orchestrator $.Release.Namespace $.Values.vttablet.enableHeartbeat) }}
 ---
 # create a Service per StatefulSet replica
 {{ range $i := until (int $.Values.orchestrator.replicas) }}
@@ -53,9 +53,14 @@
   # Tablets for keyspaces
   {{ range $keyspace := $cell.keyspaces }}
     {{ range $shard := $keyspace.shards }}
+
+      {{ $totalTabletCount := len (include "tablet-count" $shard.tablets) }}
+
+      # now range through the tablets again to set them up
       {{ range $tablet := $shard.tablets }}
 ---
-{{ include "vttablet" (tuple $.Values.topology $cell $keyspace $shard $tablet $.Values.vttablet $.Release.Namespace $.Values.config $.Values.pmm $.Values.orchestrator) }}
+{{ include "vttablet" (tuple $.Values.topology $cell $keyspace $shard $tablet $.Values.vttablet $.Release.Namespace $.Values.config $.Values.pmm $.Values.orchestrator $totalTabletCount) }}
+
       {{ end }} # range $tablet
     {{ end }} # range $shard
   {{ end }} # range $keyspace
diff --git a/helm/vitess/values.yaml b/helm/vitess/values.yaml
index 276e77781c8..0f4fcd84e02 100644
--- a/helm/vitess/values.yaml
+++ b/helm/vitess/values.yaml
@@ -130,6 +130,13 @@ vttablet:
   mysqlImage: "percona:5.7.20"
   # mysqlImage: "mysql:5.7.20"
   # mysqlImage: "mariadb:10.3.4"
+
+  enableHeartbeat: false
+
+  # This requires at least 2 instances of "replica" tablet types, otherwise semi-sync
+  # will block forever. "rdonly" tablets do not ACK.
+  enableSemisync: false
+
   resources:
     # common production values 2-4CPU/4-8Gi RAM
     limits: