Frontline backdrop
Frontline poster
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!

The Best Episodes of Frontline Season 42

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...
  1. Background image for Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (1)
    6.5/10(29 votes)

    #1 - Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (1)

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2)
    7.3/10(40 votes)

    #2 - Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2)

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Putin and the Presidents
    7.3/10(56 votes)

    #3 - Putin and the Presidents

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Age of Easy Money
    6.8/10(96 votes)

    #4 - Age of Easy Money

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for America and the Taliban (1)
    7.2/10(36 votes)

    #5 - America and the Taliban (1)

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for America and the Taliban (2)
    8.6/10(58 votes)

    #6 - America and the Taliban (2)

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Frontline

    READ
  8. Background image for America and the Taliban (3)
    7.2/10(37 votes)

    #7 - America and the Taliban (3)

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
  9. Background image for Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court
    7.6/10(38 votes)

    #8 - Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
  10. Background image for Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah
    8.0/10(77 votes)

    #9 - Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics
    5.9/10(42 votes)

    #10 - After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for America's Dangerous Trucks
    8.1/10(95 votes)

    #11 - America's Dangerous Trucks

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Inside the Iranian Uprising
    8.1/10(26 votes)

    #12 - Inside the Iranian Uprising

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Putin's Crisis
    7.7/10(15 votes)

    #13 - Putin's Crisis

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Two Strikes / Tutwiler
    6.9/10(25 votes)

    #14 - Two Strikes / Tutwiler

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Putin vs. the Press
    7.9/10(72 votes)

    #15 - Putin vs. the Press

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for The Astros Edge
    8.0/10(30 votes)

    #16 - The Astros Edge

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
    7.2/10(24 votes)

    #17 - Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for McConnell, the GOP & the Court
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - McConnell, the GOP & the Court

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for 20 Days in Mariupol
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - 20 Days in Mariupol

    S42:E19

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

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Inside the Uvalde Response
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Inside the Uvalde Response

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for The Discord Leaks
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - The Discord Leaks

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza / Failure at the Fence
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza / Failure at the Fence

    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.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Season 42 Ratings Summary

"Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (1)" is the best rated episode of "Frontline" season 42. It scored 6.5/10 based on 29 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/3/2023. This episode is rated 0.8 points higher than the second-best, "Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2)".