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The Best Episodes of Dateline Season 34

Every episode of Dateline Season 34 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Dateline Season 34!

Binge this in 1d 6h•Peaking at 7.9/10

Dateline NBC, or simply Dateline, is a weekly American television newsmagazine series. It was previously the network's flagship newsmagazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasional editions that focus on other

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Dateline Season 34 Episode 8 - Running Man
    7.9/10(41 votes)

    S34:E8

    Investigators discover a car engulfed in flames in a remote wooded area near the Blue Mountains. When first responders pull the body of a local mother from the wreckage, the question arises: was the crash an accident, or something far more sinister?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Dateline Season 34 Episode 12 - The Trouble with Sarah
    7.8/10(30 votes)

    S34:E12

    Sarah Hartsfield's husband Joseph died in 2023 after being hospitalized in critical condition for hypoglycemia—a dangerous drop in blood sugar. Investigators would soon find a web of suspicious deaths in Sarah's past.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Dateline Season 34 Episode 5 - Deadly Mischief
    7.7/10(40 votes)

    S34:E5

    On the morning of July 18, 2014, esteemed Florida State University law professor Dan Markel was ambushed and shot twice in the head in his Tallahassee driveway. What began as a targeted assassination in a quiet Tallahassee neighborhood would eventually expose a web of lies, manipulation, and greed within a wealthy South Florida family.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Dateline Season 34 Episode 22 - Book of Lies
    7.7/10(26 votes)

    S34:E22

    When Eric Richins died in 2022, what began as a story of loss turned into a criminal case built on toxicology findings, phone data, financial records, witness testimony, and evidence of strain inside his marriage.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Dateline Season 34 Episode 3 - The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire
    7.6/10(39 votes)

    S34:E3

    When 74-year-old Clifford Lambert goes missing in California, the case eventually reveals a sophisticated web of deception, forged documents, and greed-fueled betrayal—resulting in multiple convictions, one inmate’s death, and a decade-long legal saga that only recently concluded.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Dateline Season 34 Episode 4 - A Perfect Spring Morning
    7.6/10(37 votes)

    S34:E4

    The quiet community of Chevy Chase, MD, is shaken when mother Leslie Preer is found murdered in her shower. Detectives find plausible suspects quickly, but without evidence the case goes cold until a surprising lead unmasks the killer two decades later.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Dateline Season 34 Episode 10 - The Ruse
    7.6/10(40 votes)

    S34:E10

    When Tom Perez Sr., a father from Fontana, California, fails to return home after a quick trip to check his mail, his son calls police for help—only to find himself the focus of their investigation until a stunning revelation upends the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Dateline Season 34 Episode 13 - Secrets in the Ashes
    7.6/10(29 votes)

    S34:E13

    A house fire in South Texas kills Patricia Leigh Mills while her young son miraculously escapes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Dateline Season 34 Episode 15 - Malice
    7.6/10(27 votes)

    S34:E15

    In Georgia, Jake Embert's death by gunshot is quickly ruled a suicide. His family believes there is more to the story and searches for justice for years, enduring a legal saga that spans three criminal trials.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Dateline Season 34 Episode 19 - Temptation
    7.6/10(27 votes)

    S34:E19

    Never-before-seen footage of the au pair in the Virginia double murder case involving a father accused of killing his wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Dateline Season 34 Episode 21 - Deadly Swagger
    7.6/10(28 votes)

    S34:E21

    On June 5, 2021, a masked and hooded intruder entered the lakeside residence of Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood, shooting them both, killing Gary and leaving Wendy with life-changing injuries. The fear spread around the wealth-encrusted shores of Lake Tahoe. It would take investigators over two years to unravel this complex case of bad investments, drugs, affairs, and murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Dateline Season 34 Episode 28 - Secrets Unmasked
    7.6/10(30 votes)

    S34:E28

    A few days after Regina Rowe-Hicks failed to show up to pick up her son in 2001, authorities discovered Regina's body in her white Camaro submerged in a pond. An autopsy showed injuries from an attack before she entered the water. For decades, Regina's murder remained one of Ohio's most frustrating unsolved cases, until a a cold case unit pushed a witness to come forward.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Dateline Season 34 Episode 32 - The Mushroom Mystery
    7.6/10(26 votes)

    S34:E32

    When a woman finds a body on a rural road outside of Indianapolis, police learn the victim might have been poisoned with mushrooms.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Dateline Season 34 Episode 1 - The Phantom
    7.5/10(47 votes)

    S34:E1

    The murder of a Colorado mother seems to point to an obvious suspect, but as investigators dig deeper, they uncover and elaborate plot filled with secrets and deception that turns the entire case upside down.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Dateline Season 34 Episode 6 - The Death of Dr. Schwartz
    7.5/10(36 votes)

    S34:E6

    Steven Schwartz, a prominent kidney specialist, was found brutally murdered on May 28, 2014, in his waterfront home in Tarpon Springs, FL. At first glance, the scene looked like a botched burglary, but investigators would eventually uncover a decades-old secret that led to a violent killing.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Dateline Season 34 Episode 16 - The Professor & The Poet
    7.5/10(26 votes)

    S34:E16

    A years-long international hunt after Sue Ann Marcum, an accounting professor at American University, is found murdered in her Maryland home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Dateline Season 34 Episode 23 - A Window of Time
    7.5/10(26 votes)

    S34:E23

    When Tara Baker, a law student at the University of Georgia, is found murdered in her home in 2001, suspicion falls on someone close to her. For years, her family searches for answers as the case goes cold. Decades later, renewed attention leads to an arrest and a dramatic courtroom twist.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Dateline Season 34 Episode 24 - Breaking Point
    7.5/10(26 votes)

    S34:E24

    Morgan Fox, a 29-year-old mother, was shot and killed while leaving for work as an operations manager at a FedEx Ground facility in Stark County, Ohio. Investigators find that Morgan had complained about harassment at work from her male co-workers, so they begin interviewing them, one by one.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Dateline Season 34 Episode 33 - The Day Dee Disappeared
    7.5/10(24 votes)

    S34:E33

    Dee Ann Warner was 52 years old when she disappeared from Franklin Township in Lenawee County, Michigan, in April 2021. The three-year investigation stalled until a single X-ray image provided a breakthrough.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Dateline Season 34 Episode 9 - Raising the Dead
    7.4/10(28 votes)

    S34:E9

    In rural Wisconsin, Tanna Togstad and her boyfriend Tim Mumrue are found stabbed to death inside her farmhouse in 1992. Thirty years later, the daughter of one of the original suspects comes forward, reigniting the case all the way to trial.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Dateline Season 34 Episode 11 - The Farmer's Wife
    7.4/10(40 votes)

    S34:E11

    After a 911 call reporting a home invasion, police discover Karina Cooper sitting on her husband Ryan's blood-covered body in their Traer, Iowa, farmhouse. In the aftermath of Ryan Cooper's murder, rumors sweep through the small town, but investigators must uncover whether the talk is gossip or a crucial clue.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Dateline Season 34 Episode 14 - Bringing Jay Home
    7.4/10(37 votes)

    S34:E14

    A University of Mississippi student vanishes from his apartment. Friends and family fear that Jimmie "Jay" Lee's identity as a Black gay man may complicate the pursuit of justice.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Dateline Season 34 Episode 20 - The Gorge
    7.3/10(28 votes)

    S34:E20

    On November 29, 2019, Alice Ku disappeared while on a trip to Taiwan with her husband, making Toroko National Park the backdrop of an international mystery.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Dateline Season 34 Episode 26 - A Killing in Midtown
    7.3/10(16 votes)

    S34:E26

    Exclusive new details and insight into the Luigi Mangione investigation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Dateline Season 34 Episode 30 - The Bluegrass Mystery
    7.3/10(21 votes)

    S34:E30

    When a mother of two named Ella Jackson vanishes from her Kentucky home in 2019, the detectives uncover a series of witness statements and evidence that lead them to a primary suspect.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 34 Ratings Summary

"Running Man" is the best rated episode of "Dateline" season 34. It scored 7.9/10 based on 41 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/14/2025. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Trouble with Sarah".