Frontline backdrop
Documentary•News

The Best Episodes of Frontline Season 42

Every episode of Frontline Season 42 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Frontline Season 42!

Binge this in 1d 1h•Peaking at 7.8/10

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
    Frontline Season 42 Episode 2 - Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2)
    7.8/10(111 votes)

    S42:E2

    FRONTLINE and Forbidden Stories investigate the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group. Part two of a joint investigation into the hacking tool used to spy on journalists, activists, the fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and others.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Frontline Season 42 Episode 10 - After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics
    7.6/10(85 votes)

    S42:E10

    A year after the Uvalde school shooting, FRONTLINE, Futuro Investigates, and The Texas Tribune document the community's trauma, efforts to heal, and the fight over assault rifles.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Frontline Season 42 Episode 6 - America and the Taliban (2)
    7.5/10(83 votes)

    S42:E6

    How America's 20-year investment in Afghanistan culminated in Taliban victory. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with Taliban and U.S. officials, part two of this epic three-part investigation traces the missteps and consequences.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Frontline Season 42 Episode 18 - McConnell, the GOP & the Court
    7.4/10(73 votes)

    S42:E18

    How Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell helped transform the Supreme Court and U.S. politics. Amid scrutiny of the high court and a power struggle in the GOP, FRONTLINE examines McConnell's rise and role in pushing the judiciary to the right and America's polarized democracy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Frontline Season 42 Episode 7 - America and the Taliban (3)
    7.3/10(44 votes)

    S42:E7

    How America's 20-year investment in Afghanistan culminated in Taliban victory. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with Taliban and U.S. officials, part three of this epic three-part investigation traces the missteps and consequences.

    Directors:Martin Smith, Marcela Gaviria
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Frontline Season 42 Episode 19 - 20 Days in Mariupol
    7.2/10(51 votes)

    S42:E19

    The AP's Mstyslav Chernov and two colleagues document atrocities and their own escape from the Russian siege of Mariupol.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Frontline

    READ
  7. Frontline Season 42 Episode 13 - Putin's Crisis
    7.1/10(36 votes)

    S42:E13

    With Vladimir Putin facing down a mutiny, how the Russian leader reached this moment of crisis. The story of Putin’s rise, his clashes at home and abroad, and how his troubled Ukraine war led to the greatest threat yet to his grip on power.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Frontline Season 42 Episode 14 - Two Strikes / Tutwiler
    7.1/10(163 votes)

    S42:E14

    In this two-part special, FRONTLINE looks at a little known "two strikes" law and pregnancy in prison. In collaboration with The Marshall Project, the first half examines how a former West Point cadet got life in prison under a "two strikes" law. The second half documents what happens to pregnant women in prison and their newborns.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Frontline Season 42 Episode 15 - Putin vs. the Press
    7.0/10(44 votes)

    S42:E15

    The story of one journalist's battle to defend free speech in Putin's Russia. With unique access, the film follows Nobel prize-winner Dmitry Muratov as he fights to keep his newspaper alive and his reporters safe amid a government crackdown.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Frontline Season 42 Episode 11 - America's Dangerous Trucks
    6.8/10(44 votes)

    S42:E11

    FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate deadly truck accidents and the fight over measures that could save thousands of lives. As deaths rise, the documentary examines decades of legal maneuvering, political influence, lax regulation and industry opposition.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Frontline Season 42 Episode 16 - The Astros Edge
    6.8/10(60 votes)

    S42:E16

    FRONTLINE examines the Houston Astros cheating scandal and what it says about baseball today. With reporter Ben Reiter, the documentary traces the making of one of the best teams and worst scandals in modern Major League Baseball history, the limited accountability and how the Astros’ approach to baseball changed the sport.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Frontline Season 42 Episode 9 - Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah
    6.7/10(50 votes)

    S42:E9

    The enduring story of the battle of Fallujah, told by the people who lived through it. Twenty years after the invasion of Iraq, soldiers, journalists and ordinary Iraqis recount one of the defining episodes of the war.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Frontline Season 42 Episode 20 - Inside the Uvalde Response
    6.6/10(40 votes)

    S42:E20

    Drawing on real-time, firsthand accounts and using official bodycam and audio, FRONTLINE, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reconstruct the chaotic response to the Uvalde school shooting and examine the missteps. The documentary delves into the lessons learned and the lingering trauma of that day.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Frontline Season 42 Episode 5 - America and the Taliban (1)
    6.5/10(34 votes)

    S42:E5

    How America's 20-year investment in Afghanistan culminated in Taliban victory. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with Taliban and U.S. officials, part one of this epic three-part investigation traces the missteps and consequences.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Frontline Season 42 Episode 1 - Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (1)
    6.0/10(53 votes)

    S42:E1

    Investigating the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group. This two-part series from FRONTLINE and Forbidden Films examines how the hacking tool was used to spy on journalists, activists, the fiancée of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and others.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Frontline Season 42 Episode 12 - Inside the Iranian Uprising
    5.6/10(81 votes)

    S42:E12

    With a trove of gripping footage filmed by protestors, this documentary goes inside the uprising that rocked Iran after the death of a young woman in police custody — and sheds new light on a regime under unprecedented pressure. Last fall, anti-government protests swept across Iran after the death in police custody of a young woman, Mahsa Zhina Amini, who was accused of not adhering to the Islamic regime’s strict dress code. In the crackdown on protests that followed, human rights groups estimate that more than 500 Iranians have been killed, including 72 children. In a country where journalists are tightly controlled, young Iranians have been filming the uprising themselves and posting the videos online. For more than six months, FRONTLINE has been gathering and reviewing over 100 hours of this footage, cross-checking it with testimony from eyewitnesses and protestors, and following activists and exiles who have been gathering evidence of human rights violations.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Frontline Season 42 Episode 17 - Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
    5.4/10(31 votes)

    S42:E17

    Elon Musk’s long and often troubled relationship with Twitter. FRONTLINE traces Musk’s journey from one of the platform’s most provocative users to its sole proprietor, exploring the acquisition, free speech issues and the company’s uncertain future.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Frontline Season 42 Episode 4 - Age of Easy Money
    4.3/10(6 votes)

    S42:E4

    The role of the Federal Reserve’s “easy money” policies in the current economic uncertainty. From the Great Recession to the rise in inflation, FRONTLINE examines the ongoing fragility of the financial system and the widening gap between Wall St. and Main St.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Frontline Season 42 Episode 3 - Putin and the Presidents
    2.1/10(8 votes)

    S42:E3

    Vladimir Putin’s clashes with American presidents as he’s tried to rebuild the Russian empire. FRONTLINE traces the miscalculations and missteps of American presidents over five administrations, culminating in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Frontline Season 42 Episode 8 - Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court
    2.1/10(8 votes)

    S42:E8

    As controversy erupts around Clarence and Ginni Thomas, FRONTLINE tells the inside story of their path to power. This investigation from veteran filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team traces how race, power and controversy collide in the rise of the Supreme Court justice and his wife and how the couple has reshaped American law and politics.

    Director:Michael Kirk
    Writers:Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Frontline Season 42 Episode 21 - The Discord Leaks
    2.1/10(8 votes)

    S42:E21

    How a young Air National Guardsman allegedly leaked classified documents onto the Discord chat platform. With The Washington Post, FRONTLINE examines Jack Teixeira’s alleged leak of national security secrets, why he wasn’t stopped, and the role of platforms like Discord.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Frontline Season 42 Episode 22 - Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza / Failure at the Fence
    2.1/10(8 votes)

    S42:E22

    Part 1: As the war in Gaza continues with devastating consequences, a major 90-minute documentary offers a sweeping examination of the critical moments and missteps that led to this crisis over the course of the past three decades, and the pivotal role of a central player: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Part 2: How Hamas was able to breach Israel’s vaunted security barrier on Oct. 7, 2023. This special collaboration stems from a Washington Post reconstruction, now deepened with additional on-the-ground reporting and riveting interviews that present a remarkable picture of how, as The Post reporters show, Hamas was planning the attack in plain sight, and Israel was blinded to its own vulnerabilities.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Season 42 Ratings Summary

"Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2)" is the best rated episode of "Frontline" season 42. It scored 7.8/10 based on 111 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/10/2023. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics".