7.6/1049 votes#1 - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Season 38 Episode 1 - Aired 10/1/2019
A year after the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, FRONTLINE investigates the rise of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. In a two-hour documentary, Martin Smith — who has covered the Middle East for FRONTLINE for 20 years — examines the crown prince's vision for the future of Saudi Arabia, his handling of dissent and his ties to Khashoggi's killing.
Director: N/A
Writer: Linda Hirsch, Martin Smith
8.0/10151 votes#2 - On The President's Orders
Season 38 Episode 2 - Aired 10/8/2019
A searing, on-the-ground look at President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly campaign against suspected drug dealers and users in the Philippines, "On the President's Orders" is told with unprecedented access to the police themselves. It offers a gripping, visually stunning window into the war on drugs — those carrying it out, and those most impacted by it.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1033 votes#3 - Zero Tolerance
Season 38 Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/2019
How Trump turned immigration into a powerful political weapon that fueled division. Inside the effort by three insurgents to tap into populist anger, transform the GOP, and crack down on immigration.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1025 votes#4 - Fire in Paradise
Season 38 Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/2019
A year after the devastating Camp Fire, FRONTLINE examines who’s to blame and why it was so catastrophic. With accounts from survivors and first responders, the documentary tells the inside story of the most destructive fire in California's history, its causes and the impact of climate change.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1057 votes#5 - In the Age of AI
Season 38 Episode 5 - Aired 11/5/2019
From fears about work and privacy to a rivalry between the U.S. and China, FRONTLINE explores the promise and perils of AI. The documentary traces a new industrial revolution that will reshape and disrupt our lives, our jobs and our world, and allow the emergence of the surveillance society.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10128 votes#6 - Kids Caught in the Crackdown/ Iraq's Secret Sex Trade
Season 38 Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/2019
In an investigation with The Associated Press, FRONTLINE examines the widespread consequences — and business — of the mass confinement of migrant children. The documentary details the traumatic stories of migrant children detained under President Trump’s immigration policies. Also in this two-part hour, a report on the sexual exploitation of women and girls in Iraq.
Director: Daffodil Altan, Andrés Cediel
Writer: N/A
6.3/1019 votes#7 - For Sama
Season 38 Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/2019
In a time of conflict and darkness in her home in Aleppo, Syria, one young woman kept her camera rolling — while falling in love, getting married, having a baby and saying goodbye as her city crumbled. The award-winning documentary unfolds as a love letter from filmmaker and young mother Waad al-Kateab to her daughter — Sama.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1039 votes#8 - Targeting El Paso
Season 38 Episode 8 - Aired 1/7/2020
FRONTLINE investigates how El Paso, Texas became the Trump administration’s immigration testing ground, and then the target of a white supremacist. Interviews with current and former officials, Border Patrol agents, advocates and migrants tell the inside story from the epicenter of the border crisis.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
6.8/1033 votes#9 - America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump (Part One)
Season 38 Episode 9 - Aired 1/13/2020
A two-part investigation into America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics. Part One of the documentary traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10197 votes#10 - America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump (Part Two)
Season 38 Episode 10 - Aired 1/13/2020
A two-part investigation into America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics. Part Two of the documentary examines how Donald Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions and how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10170 votes#11 - Taliban Country/The Luanda Leaks
Season 38 Episode 11 - Aired 1/21/2020
FRONTLINE reporter Najibullah Quraishi goes on a dangerous journey into both Taliban- and ISIS-held territory amid efforts to end nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan. Also in this two-part hour, an investigation with the ICIJ into how Isabel dos Santos became Africa’s richest woman.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1027 votes#12 - Battle for Hong Kong
Season 38 Episode 12 - Aired 2/11/2020
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1060 votes#13 - Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos
Season 38 Episode 13 - Aired 2/18/2020
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10423 votes#14 - NRA Under Fire
Season 38 Episode 14 - Aired 3/24/2020
Once an unrivaled political power, the NRA is facing challenges from all sides. FRONTLINE examines how the NRA aligned with President Trump and his base, and finds itself under attack ahead of the 2020 election.
Director: Gabrielle Schonder
Writer: N/A
7.4/1057 votes#15 - Plastic Wars
Season 38 Episode 15 - Aired 3/31/2020
With the plastic industry expanding like never before, and the crisis of ocean pollution growing, FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the fight over the future of plastics.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1095 votes#16 - China Undercover
Season 38 Episode 16 - Aired 4/7/2020
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: N/A
7.9/1068 votes#17 - Coronavirus Pandemic
Season 38 Episode 17 - Aired 4/21/2020
How did the U.S. become the country with the worst known coronavirus outbreak in the world? FRONTLINE investigates the American response to COVID-19 — from Washington State to Washington, D.C. — and examines what happens when politics and science collide.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1058 votes#18 - Inside Italy's COVID War
Season 38 Episode 18 - Aired 5/19/2020
FRONTLINE goes inside a hospital battling the coronavirus crisis in northern Italy, as doctors are forced to make life and death decisions. An intimate, exclusive story that follows one besieged ER doctor, her staff and the patients suffering from COVID-19, from the darkest days to the signs of hope.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1045 votes#19 - The Virus: What Went Wrong?
Season 38 Episode 19 - Aired 6/16/2020
As COVID-19 spread from Asia to the Middle East to Europe, why was the U.S. caught so unprepared? Despite repeated warnings of a potent contagion headed our way, America’s leaders failed to prepare and protect us. Why and who is accountable?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1073 votes#20 - Opioids, Inc.
Season 38 Episode 20 - Aired 6/23/2020
The story of a drug company that pushed opioids by bribing doctors and committing insurance fraud. With the Financial Times, FRONTLINE investigates how Insys Therapeutics profited from a fentanyl-based painkiller 50 times stronger than heroin.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1063 votes#21 - Once Upon A Time In Iraq
Season 38 Episode 21 - Aired 7/14/2020
This is the story of the Iraq war, told by Iraqis who lived through it. They share their personal accounts and lasting memories of life under Saddam Hussein, the U.S.-led invasion of their country and the 17 years of chaos that followed — from the sectarian violence to the rise and brutal reign of ISIS.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Frontline Season 38
Every episode of Frontline Season 38 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Frontline Season 38!
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...
Genres:DocumentaryNewsTalk
Network:PBS
Season 38 Ratings Summary
"The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" is the best rated episode of "Frontline" season 38. It scored 7.6/10 based on 49 votes. Directed by N/A and written by Linda Hirsch, Martin Smith, it aired on 10/1/2019. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "On The President's Orders".