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 1h•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 3 - Rumsfeld's War
    10.0/10(17 votes)

    #1 - Rumsfeld's War

    S23:E3

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Frontline Season 36 Episode 1 - Mosul/Inside Yemen
    10.0/10(23 votes)

    #3 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Frontline Season 36 Episode 2 - Putin's Revenge (1)
    10.0/10(45 votes)

    #4 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Frontline Season 36 Episode 5 - Exodus: The Journey Continues
    10.0/10(98 votes)

    #5 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Frontline Season 36 Episode 7 - Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia (1)
    10.0/10(50 votes)

    #6 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Frontline

    READ
  7. Frontline Season 36 Episode 14 - Myanmar's Killing Fields
    10.0/10(8 votes)

    #7 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Frontline Season 19 Episode 7 - The Clinton Years
    9.0/10(16 votes)

    #8 - The Clinton Years

    S19:E7

    A look at Bill Clinton's life from the Arkansas governor's mansion through a hard-fought presidential campaign and his eight years in the White House.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Frontline Season 23 Episode 11 - Israel's Next War?
    9.0/10(25 votes)

    #9 - Israel's Next War?

    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

  10. Frontline Season 36 Episode 15 - UN Sex Abuse Scandal
    8.5/10(49 votes)

    #10 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Frontline Season 29 Episode 7 - Post Mortem
    8.0/10(13 votes)

    #11 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Frontline Season 36 Episode 3 - Putin's Revenge (2)
    7.5/10(192 votes)

    #12 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Frontline Season 38 Episode 16 - China Undercover
    7.5/10(28 votes)

    #13 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Frontline Season 23 Episode 8 - House of Saud
    7.0/10(28 votes)

    #14 - House of Saud

    S23:E8

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Frontline Season 27 Episode 4 - Inside the Meltdown
    7.0/10(137 votes)

    #15 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Frontline Season 38 Episode 12 - Battle for Hong Kong
    6.0/10(48 votes)

    #16 - Battle for Hong Kong

    S38:E12

    FRONTLINE goes inside the battle for Hong Kong, following protesters through the most intense clashes over several months of pro-democracy protests. The film examines their struggle against what they say is growing influence from the communist government of mainland China.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Frontline Season 38 Episode 13 - Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos
    6.0/10(80 votes)

    #17 - Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos

    S38:E13

    FRONTLINE examines Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ ascent to power and the global impact of the empire he built. The film also investigates the darker side of the company’s rapid growth, and the challenge of trying to rein in the power of the richest man in the world.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Frontline Season 43 Episode 3 - Children of Ukraine
    6.0/10(63 votes)

    #18 - Children of Ukraine

    S43:E3

    FRONTLINE examines how thousands of Ukrainian children have been taken and held in Russian-controlled territory since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The documentary follows Ukrainian families searching for their missing children, organizations investigating the alleged abductions and Ukrainian teenagers who escaped and say they were subjected to Russian propaganda.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Frontline Season 37 Episode 8 - The Facebook Dilemma (1)
    5.7/10(39 votes)

    #19 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Frontline Season 37 Episode 9 - The Facebook Dilemma (2)
    5.7/10(36 votes)

    #20 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Frontline Season 33 Episode 1 - Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA
    5.5/10(108 votes)

    #21 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Frontline Season 33 Episode 10 - Rape on the Night Shift
    5.5/10(34 votes)

    #22 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Frontline Season 33 Episode 11 - Growing Up Trans
    5.5/10(100 votes)

    #23 - 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

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Frontline Season 36 Episode 4 - Poor Kids
    5.5/10(135 votes)

    #24 - Poor Kids

    S36:E4

    In 2012, FRONTLINE spent months following four young children as their families struggled with financial ruin. This documentary revisits the families to see what their lives are like now, offering a powerful, firsthand look at what poverty means to children.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Frontline Season 36 Episode 6 - The Gang Crackdown
    5.5/10(52 votes)

    #25 - The Gang Crackdown

    S36:E6

    Some 25 dead bodies have been found on Long Island since 2016, all linked to the violent gang MS-13. Numerous immigrant teens are missing. As law enforcement tries to stop the gang, FRONTLINE goes inside the crackdown — investigating how the slew of gruesome killings led to many immigrant teens being accused of gang affiliation and unlawfully detained.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Rumsfeld's War" is the best rated episode of "Frontline". It scored 10/10 based on 17 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".