DocumentaryPBS

The Best Seasons of American Masters

Every season of American Masters ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of American Masters!

Top season
Season 8
7.8avg
Best episode
S13E5 The Lives of Lillian Hellman
9.0105 votes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes
#1

Season 8

2 Episodes

First Aired: Dec 1993

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Benny Goodman: Adventures in the Kingdom of Swing 7.9
#2

Season 22

9 Episodes

First Aired: Feb 2008

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Pete Seeger: The Power of Song 7.9
#3

Season 7

3 Episodes

First Aired: Mar 1993

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Paul Simon: Born at the Right Time 8.1

Other Seasons

#4

Season 9

4 Episodes

First Aired: Nov 1994

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE2 · Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage 8.1
#5

Season 1

12 Episodes

First Aired: Jun 1986

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE12 · Eugene O'Neill: A Glory of Ghosts 8.2
#6

Season 15

8 Episodes

First Aired: Sep 2000

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE4 · Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy 8.6
#7

Season 18

8 Episodes

First Aired: Sep 2003

7.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE4 · Balanchine 8.6
#8

Season 14

7 Episodes

First Aired: Nov 1999

7.7/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE5 · Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light 7.8
#9

Season 35

10 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2021

7.7/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE6 · Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir 8.4
#10

Season 30

9 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2016

7.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE8 · Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You 8.2
#11

Season 13

7 Episodes

First Aired: Oct 1998

7.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE5 · The Lives of Lillian Hellman 9.0
#12

Season 28

10 Episodes

First Aired: Dec 2013

7.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE10 · Bing Crosby Rediscovered 8.2
#13

Season 11

5 Episodes

First Aired: Nov 1996

7.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Lena Horne: In Her Own Voice 8.2
#14

Season 39

8 Episodes

First Aired: Feb 2025

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE6 · Marcella 8.3
#15

Season 2

10 Episodes

First Aired: Jul 1987

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE8 · Unanswered Prayers: The Life and Times of Truman Capote 8.7
#16

Season 4

10 Episodes

First Aired: Jul 1989

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Satchmo: The Life of Louis Armstrong 8.1
#17

Season 17

8 Episodes

First Aired: Oct 2002

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE8 · The Education of Gore Vidal 8.1
#18

Season 27

5 Episodes

First Aired: Feb 2013

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE4 · Billie Jean King 8.0
#19

Season 16

8 Episodes

First Aired: Oct 2001

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds 8.1
#20

Season 20

9 Episodes

First Aired: May 2006

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE5 · Walter Cronkite: Witness to History 8.4
#21

Season 5

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jul 1990

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE6 · John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen 8.4
#22

Season 10

5 Episodes

First Aired: Nov 1995

7.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval 7.7
#23

Season 23

8 Episodes

First Aired: Feb 2009

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About 7.9
#24

Season 32

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2018

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart 8.2
#25

Season 36

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2022

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Waterman – Duke: Ambassador of Aloha 8.5
#26

Season 3

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jul 1988

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Lillian Gish: The Actor's Life for Me 8.1
#27

Season 40

6 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2026

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire 7.8
#28

Season 21

9 Episodes

First Aired: Apr 2007

7.4/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE9 · Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character 8.4
#29

Season 25

9 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2011

7.3/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE2 · Troubadors: Carole King/James Taylor & the Rise of the Singer-Songwriter 8.1
#30

Season 26

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2012

7.3/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel 8.2
#31

Season 12

6 Episodes

First Aired: Sep 1997

7.3/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Billy Wilder: the Human Comedy 8.1
#32

Season 19

8 Episodes

First Aired: May 2005

7.3/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE7 · Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (1) 8.4
#33

Season 33

12 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2019

7.2/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE2 · Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me 8.2
#34

Season 34

8 Episodes

First Aired: Mar 2020

7.2/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am 8.1
#35

Season 31

10 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2017

7.0/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE5 · Jacques Pépin: The Art of Craft 8.2
#36

Season 6

9 Episodes

First Aired: Jul 1991

6.9/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE8 · Ray Charles: The Genius of Soul 8.0
#37

Season 24

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2010

6.8/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE3 · The Doors: When You're Strange 7.7
#38

Season 37

9 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2023

6.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE1 · Roberta Flack 7.8
#39

Season 38

7 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2024

6.6/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE4 · Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames 8.0
#40

Season 29

8 Episodes

First Aired: Jan 2015

6.5/ 10
Average Rating
Best episodeE4 · American Ballet Theatre: A History 8.1

Keep going

Top-rated American Masters episodes

  1. #1The Lives of Lillian Hellman S13E59.0
  2. #2Balanchine S18E48.6
  3. #3Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy S15E48.6
  4. #4Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (1) S19E78.4
  5. #5Unanswered Prayers: The Life and Times of Truman Capote S2E88.7

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