Frontline backdrop
Documentary•News

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 10d 4h•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

Airs on
PBS
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons45

All123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    Frontline Season 23 Episode 7 - Al Qaeda's New Front
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Frontline Season 19 Episode 14 - Harvest of Fear
    9.6/10(21 votes)

    S19:E14

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Frontline Season 21 Episode 3 - The Man Who Knew
    9.1/10(19 votes)

    S21:E3

    When the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, among the thousands killed was the one man who may have known more about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda than any other person in America: John O'Neill.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Frontline Season 14 Episode 15 - The Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson
    9.0/10(9 votes)

    S14:E15

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Frontline Season 17 Episode 10 - The Triumph of Evil
    9.0/10(20 votes)

    S17:E10

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Frontline Season 17 Episode 17 - Making Babies
    9.0/10(10 votes)

    S17:E17

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Frontline

    READ
  7. Frontline Season 20 Episode 3 - Looking for Answers
    9.0/10(17 votes)

    S20:E3

    Sunday night, as U.S. bombers and cruise missiles attack targets in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden released a videotape calling on Muslims worldwide to join his war on America. Next to bin Laden was his close association, an Egyptian named Ayman al-Zawahiri, a man who is certainly as important to the terror network as bin Laden himself. Tonight on FRONTLINE, the full story of these two men, the story of how the seeds of their hatred for America were sown not in Afghanistan but in two of the U.S.'s greatest allies in the Islamic world, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and the story of how they joined forces to pursue a common enemy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Frontline Season 21 Episode 13 - The War Behind Closed Doors
    9.0/10(15 votes)

    S21:E13

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Frontline Season 29 Episode 15 - WikiSecrets
    9.0/10(9 votes)

    S29:E15

    The inside story of Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange (WikiLeaks) and the largest intelligence breach in U.S. history.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Frontline Season 7 Episode 5 - The Battle for Eastern Airlines
    8.9/10(17 votes)

    S7:E5

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Frontline Season 12 Episode 10 - Tabloid Truth: the Michael Jackson Story
    8.9/10(48 votes)

    S12:E10

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Frontline Season 15 Episode 16 - Hot Guns
    8.9/10(16 votes)

    S15:E16

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Frontline Season 21 Episode 7 - In Search of Al Qaeda
    8.9/10(11 votes)

    S21:E7

    In December 2001, as American forces blasted mountain hideouts in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, hundreds of Al Qaeda soldiers fled seemingly disappearing into thin air. In this 2002 documentary, FRONTLINE investigates what happened to the fighters who survived.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Frontline Season 22 Episode 5 - Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald? (Updated)
    8.9/10(22 votes)

    S22:E5

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Frontline Season 7 Episode 14 - Yellowstone Under Fire
    8.8/10(12 votes)

    S7:E14

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Frontline Season 9 Episode 10 - Betting on the Lottery
    8.8/10(9 votes)

    S9:E10

    Lottery fever is spreading. Twenty-nine states now raise $20 billion a year in revenues. Frontline correspondent James Reston, Jr., goes behind the scenes of state lotteries to look at the promoters selling them, the people buying the tickets, and to ask the question, ‘Who really wins and who loses?’

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Frontline Season 16 Episode 12 - Busted: America's War on Marijuana
    8.8/10(184 votes)

    S16:E12

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Frontline Season 17 Episode 6 - Plague War
    8.8/10(11 votes)

    S17:E6

    FRONTLINE's "Plague War" investigates the ever-increasing threat of biological weapons in today's world, focusing on the rise and fall of the Soviet Union's enormous covert bio-weapons program which went undetected for almost two decades.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Frontline Season 11 Episode 17 - Iran and the Bomb
    8.7/10(14 votes)

    S11:E17

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Frontline Season 21 Episode 5 - A Crime of Insanity
    8.7/10(12 votes)

    S21:E5

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Frontline Season 22 Episode 6 - From China With Love
    8.7/10(253 votes)

    S22:E6

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Frontline Season 22 Episode 8 - Beyond Baghdad
    8.7/10(13 votes)

    S22:E8

    Veteran investigative team Martin Smith, Marcela Gaviria and Scott Anger continued their reporting on Iraq, setting out on a five-week journey across the country, from the Kurdish north, through the Sunni Triangle, to the Shiite south, taking a hard look at the social and political reality beyond the political corridors of Baghdad.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Frontline Season 23 Episode 11 - Israel's Next War?
    8.7/10(26 votes)

    S23:E11

    A shocking documentary about the growing number of Jewish extremists in Israel.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Frontline Season 32 Episode 9 - United States of Secrets (1)
    8.7/10(294 votes)

    S32:E9

    The history of the National Security Agency's unprecedented surveillance program is investigated.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Frontline Season 14 Episode 18 - The Gate of Heavenly Peace
    8.6/10(34 votes)

    S14:E18

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Al Qaeda's New Front" 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 1/25/2005. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Harvest of Fear".