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The Best Episodes of Frontline

Every episode of Frontline ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Frontline!

Binge this in 9d 18h•Peaking at 10.0/10

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Frontline Season 23 Episode 3 - Rumsfeld's War
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Rumsfeld's War

    S23:E3

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Frontline Season 23 Episode 7 - Al Qaeda's New Front
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Al Qaeda's New Front

    S23:E7

    Al-Qaeda's New Front is PBS documentary on Islamic terrorist network in Europe and its relationship to Islam and Al-Qaeda.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Frontline Season 33 Episode 1 - Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA

    S33:E1

    FRONTLINE investigates how the NRA uses its unrivaled political power to stop gun regulation in America. With first-hand accounts of school killings in Newtown and Columbine, and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, "Gunned Down" examines why, despite the national trauma over gun violence, Washington hasn't acted.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Frontline Season 33 Episode 10 - Rape on the Night Shift
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - Rape on the Night Shift

    S33:E10

    A joint investigation into the sexual abuse of immigrant women who clean the malls where you shop, the banks where you do business and the offices where you work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Frontline Season 33 Episode 11 - Growing Up Trans
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - Growing Up Trans

    S33:E11

    Just a generation ago, it was adults, not kids, who changed genders. But today, many children are transitioning, too — with new medical options, and at younger and younger ages. In Growing Up Trans, FRONTLINE takes viewers on an intimate and eye-opening journey inside the struggles and choices facing transgender kids and their families.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Frontline Season 36 Episode 1 - Mosul/Inside Yemen
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Mosul/Inside Yemen

    S36:E1

    The battle to drive ISIS out of Iraq’s second-largest city was brutal and grueling. Shot over the course of the nine-month battle, “Mosul” follows one Iraqi special forces unit as they lead the fight. Also in this two-part hour: “Inside Yemen” offers a rare, up-close look at the country that’s home to what the United Nations recently called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Frontline

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  7. Frontline Season 36 Episode 2 - Putin's Revenge (1)
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - Putin's Revenge (1)

    S36:E2

    FRONTLINE tells the inside story of how Vladimir Putin came to see the United States as an enemy — and why he decided to target an American election.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Frontline Season 36 Episode 5 - Exodus: The Journey Continues
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - Exodus: The Journey Continues

    S36:E5

    The intimate stories of refugees and migrants, caught in Europe’s tightened borders. Amid the ongoing migration crisis, the film — a sequel to the award-winning 2016 documentary, Exodus — follows personal journeys over two years, as countries become less welcoming to those seeking refuge.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Frontline Season 36 Episode 7 - Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia (1)
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia (1)

    S36:E7

    FRONTLINE investigates how a dangerous political rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has plunged the Middle East into sectarian war.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Frontline Season 36 Episode 8 - Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia (2)
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia (2)

    S36:E8

    FRONTLINE investigates how a dangerous political rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has plunged the Middle East into sectarian war.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Frontline Season 36 Episode 9 - Weinstein
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Weinstein

    S36:E9

    FRONTLINE investigates how Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed and abused dozens of women over four decades. With allegations going back to Weinstein’s early years, the film examines the elaborate ways he and those around him tried to silence his accusers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Frontline Season 36 Episode 14 - Myanmar's Killing Fields
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - Myanmar's Killing Fields

    S36:E14

    Secret footage and eyewitness accounts shine new light on a brutal campaign by the Myanmar military against Rohingya Muslims — an effort that has been described by both the United Nations and the United States as “ethnic cleansing.”

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Frontline Season 36 Episode 15 - UN Sex Abuse Scandal
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - UN Sex Abuse Scandal

    S36:E15

    An investigation into sex abuse by United Nations peacekeepers in the world’s conflict zones. Award-winning correspondent Ramita Navai (Iraq Uncovered) traces allegations from Congo to the Central African Republic, with firsthand accounts from survivors, witnesses and officials.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Frontline Season 29 Episode 7 - Post Mortem
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Post Mortem

    S29:E7

    A collaboration with NPR and ProPublica reveals how dysfunction, low standards, and lax oversight impacts investigations into sudden or suspicious deaths.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Frontline Season 37 Episode 8 - The Facebook Dilemma (1)
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #15 - The Facebook Dilemma (1)

    S37:E8

    Facebook’s promise was to create a more open and connected world. Frontline finds that multiple warnings about the platform’s negative impact on privacy and democracy were eclipsed by Facebook’s relentless pursuit of growth.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Frontline Season 37 Episode 9 - The Facebook Dilemma (2)
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #16 - The Facebook Dilemma (2)

    S37:E9

    A series of mounting crises at Facebook, from the company’s failure to protect users’ data, to the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation, have raised the question: How has Facebook’s historic success brought about real-world harm? Frontline traces a series of warnings to the company as it grew into a global empire.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Frontline Season 33 Episode 12 - Escaping ISIS
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #17 - Escaping ISIS

    S33:E12

    Using undercover footage, FRONTLINE presents the gripping, first-hand accounts of women who escaped the brutal reign of ISIS — and follows an underground network that’s helping them escape.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Frontline Season 36 Episode 3 - Putin's Revenge (2)
    7.5/10(4 votes)

    #18 - Putin's Revenge (2)

    S36:E3

    FRONTLINE tells the inside story of how Vladimir Putin came to see the United States as an enemy — and why he decided to target an American election.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Frontline Season 38 Episode 16 - China Undercover
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #19 - China Undercover

    S38:E16

    With undercover footage and firsthand accounts from survivors of China's detention camps, FRONTLINE investigates the Communist regime’s mass imprisonment of Muslims, and its use of sophisticated surveillance technology against the Uyghur community.

    Director:Robin Barnwell
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Frontline Season 23 Episode 8 - House of Saud
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - House of Saud

    S23:E8

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Frontline Season 27 Episode 4 - Inside the Meltdown
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - Inside the Meltdown

    S27:E4

    How the economy went so bad, so fast and what Paulson and Bernanke didn't see, couldn't stop and haven't been able to fix.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Frontline Season 37 Episode 7 - The Pension Gamble
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - The Pension Gamble

    S37:E7

    FRONTLINE investigates the role of state governments and Wall Street in driving America’s public pensions into a multi-trillion-dollar hole. Marcela Gaviria, Martin Smith, and Nick Verbitsky go inside the volatile fight over pensions playing out in Kentucky, and examine the broader consequences for teachers, police, firefighters and other public employees everywhere.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Frontline Season 41 Episode 11 - Afghanistan Undercover
    6.3/10(3 votes)

    #23 - Afghanistan Undercover

    S41:E11

    An undercover investigation into the Taliban’s crackdown on women in Afghanistan. Frontline correspondent Ramita Navai finds women who are being punished by the regime and confronts Taliban officials.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Frontline Season 35 Episode 20 - North Korea's Deadly Dictator
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - North Korea's Deadly Dictator

    S35:E20

    Who killed Kim Jong-un’s half brother, Kim Jong-nam? What does the murder reveal about the North Korean leader and his regime? As nuclear tensions grow, Frontline examines claims that Kim Jong-un ordered the assassination of his half brother, and sheds light on his broader intentions.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Frontline Season 37 Episode 18 - The Last Survivors
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #25 - The Last Survivors

    S37:E18

    As young children, they lived through the Holocaust. More than seventy years after World War II, some of the last remaining survivors recount their memories and the lingering trauma. FRONTLINE offers a haunting look at how disturbing childhood experiences and unimaginable loss have affected the daily lives and relationships of some of the Holocaust’s youngest victims – from survivor’s guilt, to crises of faith and second-generation trauma.

    Director:Arthur Cary
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Rumsfeld's War" is the best rated episode of "Frontline". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/26/2004. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Al Qaeda's New Front".