Every season of MacGyver ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of MacGyver!

Angus MacGyver and Jack Dalton, special agents for the Department of External Services (DXS), join forces to recover a missing bioweapon that has the ability to destroy hundreds of thousands of people with one single drop.

The Rising

MacGyver and the team attempt to rescue Sarah, Jack’s former CIA partner/ex-girlfriend who went missing in Venezuela after she obtained evidence to take down an international arms dealer.

Metal Saw

MacGyver and the team are in Malaysia to extract a terrorist groups’ money man, Ralph, who holds key intel to an impending attack. But the mission goes south when the man is shot, and now, with only a driver’s license and hand sanitizer available, MacGyver must keep Ralph alive in order to learn the terrorists’ plans.

Mac and Jack partner with older versions of themselves, a Russian bomb programmer and his estranged handler, to shut down a Soviet-era warhead in Moscow. But when the antiquated computer needed to disable the warhead becomes inoperable, Mac must find a way to fix it with only duct tape and wire in time to prevent a new Cold War.

Wire Cutter

Using only an armrest, a curtain rod, and a toothpick, MacGyver must fix a sabotaged train in order to protect a whistleblower who has proof that her boss is selling weapons to U.S. enemies.

Toothpick

Using only a wrench and rope, MacGyver must diffuse a bomb set near the United Nations by his old nemesis, “The Ghost”, a notorious criminal whose work killed his mentor, and track him down before he strikes again.

Wrench

MacGyver is tasked to go undercover as an inmate in a maximum security prison to break out El Noche, a notorious drug kingpin, using only batteries and salt, and track him to his cartel's secret location and dismantle it.

Can Opener

When MacGyver comes face to face with Murdoc, an international assassin hired to kill him, Mac must defend both himself and Bozer, armed with only a corkscrew and paper towel rolls. Also, Bozer feels completely betrayed when he finally learns Mac's true identity.

Corkscrew

With only a chisel and matchbook, MacGyver and team must defend themselves the U.S. embassy workers in Latvia from extremists who are attempting to retrieve their leader. Also, Bozer faces a big decision now that he knows who Mac really is.

Chisel

Mac and the team have no time to reminisce while visiting Mac’s and Bozer’s hometown when they immediately start searching for a kidnapped prodigy from Mac’s old middle school, Valerie.

Pliers

MacGyver and Jack search for Riley, using a microwave and a power strip, after she mysteriously disappears and hacks into the NSA, possibly unleashing World War III. Also, Bozer goes on his first official mission, and Jack opens up about his history with Riley’s mother, Diane.

Scissors

Using a screwdriver and bug spray, MacGyver must find the U.S. government mole who is leaking classified intel to the organization that is trying to take down The Phoenix Foundation. Also, Sarah returns to help with the mission, and Nikki reappears, but Mac can’t tell which side she’s on.

Screwdriver

On the way back from capturing a war criminal, Mac and Jack’s helicopter crashes in a remote area of Kazakhstan, injuring their pilot and allowing their prisoner to escape with Jack’s gun. Using a large blade and a water bottle, MacGyver must get help as the pilot’s condition worsens and before the war criminal takes them as prisoners.

Large Blade

Using a fish scaler and some fishing wire, Mac and Jack must track down a corrupt FBI agent who has framed a man for murder. Also, everyone on the team is terrified to get their first performance review from Matty, their tough new boss.

Fish Scaler

When Matty’s goddaughter and her boyfriend are killed in a San Francisco park, Mac and the team investigate the crime and start to suspect that the 1970s Zodiac Killer has returned.

Magnifying Glass

While tracking down the dangerous fugitive Aaron Deckard, Mac and Jack face the notorious Colton family of bounty hunters who already kidnapped their mark. Also, Bozer and Riley try to hack into Jack’s CIA file to find out about his history with Matty.

Hook

Bozer’s first overseas mission goes terribly wrong when Mac and the team are blamed for a terrorist bombing and the Phoenix Foundation is forced to disavow them.

Ruler

When Mac and the team travel to Hawaii to aid in earthquake relief efforts, they team up with Chin and Kono from the Five-0 task force to rescue a group of government scientists trapped in a building. However, as they work on the complicated rescue, a group using the chaos as a distraction aims to steal the top-secret weaponry from the scientists.

Flashlight

Mac and Jack help Mac’s close friend from M.I.T. after she fakes her own death to prevent someone from killing her in order to suppress her scientific research.

Compass

When the team intercepts a terror group’s message meant for Murdoc, Mac poses as the psychopath to save the intended target and find out why they want Murdoc to assassinate him.

Hole Puncher

Murdoc moves forward with his plans for revenge against MacGyver by recruiting his recently released former cellmate to infiltrate the Phoenix Complex as a “lab technician” and kill every agent inside.

Cigar Cutter

Using a cell phone and soccer ball, MacGyver and the team search for a Navy SEAL who is believed to be alive in captivity in the Middle East.

DIY or DIE

Using a necklace and a microwave transmitter, Mac and the team attempt to locate Riley after her first solo mission with a group of dangerous hackers goes off the rails

Muscle Car + Paper Clips

Using cuff links and wire, MacGyver and the team go undercover in a high stakes casino to steal diamonds from a vault before a terrorist group gets there first and trades the jewels for a weapon of mass destruction.

Roulette Wheel + Wire

When Murdoc drugs and kidnaps MacGyver, Mac uses a needle and his teeth to escape and join the team to save Murdoc’s next victim.

X-Ray + Penny

The team is pulled away from their Halloween plans when they head into the dreaded Bermuda Triangle to retrieve the Vice President’s son after his plane goes down with a mysterious prisoner on board.

Skull + Electromagnet

Using a cassette player and a plastic bucket, Mac and the team attempt to extinguish a massive oil wellhead fire in a Nigerian village, set by a rebel group, which is trying to topple its government by destroying their most valuable resource.

Jet Engine + Pickup Truck

MacGyver uses a heater and hot sauce to help a key presidential candidate in Ecuador receive a heart transplant he desperately needs after a rebel group tries to sabotage delivery of the organ.

Duct Tape + Jack

When MacGyver and Jack "steal" a priceless painting, using a table cloth and a shoe lace, in order to draw an infamous stolen art dealer out of hiding, they wind up getting conned out of the painting by the dealer's team. Also, Riley's estranged father, Elwood, asks to be part of her life, and Matty sends Bozer to a spy training camp.

Packing Peanuts + Fire

Mac and the team follow a group of Indonesian mercenaries who are transporting a lethal amount of stolen nerve gas in the hopes of tracking them to their dangerous leader. Also, Jack confronts Elwood about Riley, and Bozer is pushed to his limit in spy school.

CD-ROM + Hoagie Foil

When 32 college students are stranded on a research ship in the Arctic Ocean with no heat and erupting fires, Mac develops an emotional connection to the group leader, via video chat, as he relays how to stay alive as they await a rescue ship. Also, Jack kidnaps Elwood to find out what scam he’s up to next, and Bozer’s feelings toward Leanna grow stronger.

War Room + Ship

The LAPD interrupts the team’s Christmas celebration to arrest Mac for terrorism when they find a body in a building destroyed by a bomb Mac built.

Bullet + Pen

When Mac and Jack are trapped inside Mac's house, which his nemesis, The Ghost, has rigged with explosives, Mac uses a karaoke mic and an audio transformer to let the team know that this bomb is a distraction for a bigger one. Also, through flashbacks, Mac and Jack's contentious first meeting unfolds.

Mac + Jack

While Mac participates in a challenge for government operatives to create robotic combat machines, he must help his biggest competitor, Allie, when her vehicle is hacked and heads to the Pentagon. Also, Jack attends his high school reunion, hoping for a showdown with his old rival who beat him out for homecoming king.

CO2 Sensor + Tree Branch

When the team heads to New Orleans to track down the con artist who is posing as the wife of “Duke Jacoby,” one of Jack’s old CIA aliases, Jack finds himself in jeopardy when “Duke’s” old enemies resurface looking for revenge.

Mardi Gras Beads + Chair

After one of Murdoc's go-to assassins agrees to hand over Murdoc to MacGyver in exchange for $10 million, the team finds itself protecting Murdoc from his former mentor, Nicholas Helman, who wants him dead. Also, Jack realizes he may still have feelings for Riley's mother, Diane.

Murdoc + Handcuffs

MacGyver, Leanna, Riley and Bozer pose as honeymoon couples at a resort in order to gain information about a Serbian war criminal from his newly married son. Also, Bozer wonders if Matty knows about his relationship with Leanna, and Jack recruits Elwood to help him break into Matty’s home.

Hammock + Balcony

Mac, Jack and Riley set out to find a mobster-turned-informant after he’s kidnapped and taken to Chernobyl by an international crime boss who’s worried he will deliver incriminating information to the CIA. Also, Bozer struggles to keep a secret from Matty.

Bear Trap + Mob Boss

When Matty and the team search for a former government tech who stole classified intel and has been evading capture, they reunite with the Coltons, the family of bounty hunters, who are pursuing the same man for different reasons.

Riley + Airplane

As Mac and the team investigate the suspicious death of Dawn's CIA supervisor, the evidence leads to a dirty CIA agent and a massive counterfeiting ring.

Benjamin Franklin + Grey Duffle

Mac and Jack attempt to rescue a billionaire’s son after he is kidnapped by a former Navy SEAL who uses an EMP weapon to cut off power and communication lines to the Shanghai skyscraper where the boy lives.

Skyscraper - Power

While MacGyver is in Puerto Rico helping his friend rebuild his hurricane-damaged home, he is taken hostage in the bank his friend manages when robbers attempt to steal $2 million.

Wind + Water

Mac and Riley are attacked by a group of masked men after the government calls them in to examine a mysterious object that crash-landed in the Nevada desert. Also, Riley uncovers new information about Mac’s father but questions whether to deliver it to him after he says he needs to move on.

UFO + Area 51

MacGyver gets a shocking surprise when he tries to tell Matty that he’s quitting the Phoenix Foundation.

MacGyver + MacGyver

Three months after quitting the Phoenix Foundation and moving to Nigeria, Mac puts aside his differences with his father and returns when he hears Jack is the target of a murderous dictator he double-crossed.

Improvise

When Jack receives an emergency distress signal from one of his old Delta buddies who is falsely accused of terrorism in a foreign country, MacGyver and Jack quickly recruit the rest of Jack’s old Delta team and stage an unsanctioned rescue op.

Bravo Lead + Loyalty + Friendship

MacGyver, Riley, Bozer and Leanna go undercover on a college campus to smoke out a deep-cover operative who is recruiting students to carry out deadly attacks around the world. Also, Jack joins bounty hunter Billy Colton in the hunt for a bail jumper but is concerned when he finds out Billy offered Riley a job.

Bozer + Booze + Back to School

MacGyver and Riley, with the help of Vasil, a distraught father, must find a way to drive a tanker filled with liquid oxygen through a region occupied by rebels and deliver it to a children’s hospital before they run out. Also, Riley helps MacGyver decide whether or not to allow his father back into his life.

Guts + Fuel + Hope

When Oversight’s attempt to capture a drug cartel’s leader goes bad, MacGyver and Jack rush to Mexico to pull their boss out while racing through the heart of the country during Dia de Muertos celebrations. Also, Bozer and Riley use Halloween as a distraction to gather intel on a man accused of treason.

Dia de Muertos + Sicarios + Family

Murdoc abducts MacGyver’s girlfriend, Nasha, to force Mac to help him rescue his son, Cassian, from a kidnapper. Also, a dangerous individual from Murdoc’s personal life shows up, giving Mac a glimpse into the villain’s past.

Murdoc + MacGyver + Murdoc

Matty sends MacGyver and team to Ghana to recover a hard drive from an e-waste landfill that is run by a powerful and violent man. But when Matty refuses to reveal what’s on the drive, other than a mysterious file called “Dragonfly,” the team speculates about what could be so important to her.

Scavengers + Hard Drive + Dragonfly

MacGyver and the team set off on a dangerous capture operation after an Irish military intelligence officer approaches them claiming to know the whereabouts of “The Ghost,” a lethal bomb maker whom Mac has been hunting for years.

Revenge + Catacombs + Le Fantome

When a vial containing a deadly virus is stolen from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, MacGvyer and team race to recover it before the thief unleashes a global pandemic.

Specimen 234 + PAPR + Outbreak

Matty reveals a shocking secret to the team: she has a husband who’s been undercover in a criminal organization called S-Company for eight years. When his status as a CIA agent comes out, Matty needs MacGyver to find and extract her husband before it’s too late.

Matty + Ethan + Fidelity

Mac and Jack hit the road for a weekend of relaxation in Las Vegas, but their mini-vacation is cut short when someone from their past abducts them and locks them in a concrete room. Also, Matty tasks Riley, Bozer and Leanna with stealing a diamond encoded with terrorist intel from a princess in Milan.

Mac + Fallout + Jack

The Phoenix teams up with a woman who’s a soccer mom by day but a master thief by night to catch one of her contacts, an underworld criminal, who has hired her to steal a dirty bomb.

Fence + Suitcase + Americium-241

When MacGyver takes Riley and Bozer into the wilderness for a weekend of survival training, things take a turn when they run into a violent group of criminals who are searching the rugged backcountry for a lost crate of money. Also, Jack and Matty go on a road trip to place Matty’s ex-husband and his family in witness protection.

Wilderness + Training + Survival

An international crime boss offers Matty a deal she can’t refuse – he’ll surrender himself into her custody if he’s allowed to return to the United States to watch his daughter walk down the aisle. MacGyver and team crash the wedding to ensure the crime lord doesn’t run, only to discover they’re not the only ones lying in wait at the event.

Father + Bride + Betrayal

After a surprising introduction to Phoenix’s newest recruit, Desi, MacGyver and team are assigned to escort and protect an ATF (alcohol, tobacco, firearms) gun-sniffing dog who has a bounty on his head, only to discover they’re not the only ones crashing the weapon drop.

K9 + Smugglers + New Recruit

The Phoenix must recover the body of a pilot whose plane crashed while testing an experimental laser mapping system that MacGyver designed. Also, Riley tries to identify the hacker who tricked a SWAT team into arresting her and Elwood.

Lidar + Rogues + Duty

MacGyver and team are asked to solve a locked-door mystery when a man working inside a remote, ultra-secure international seed vault disappears.

Seeds + Permafrost + Feather

When Nicholas Helman resurfaces to carry out a killing spree, the Phoenix is forced to get help from the one person who knows him best… his protégé, Murdoc.

Murdoc + Helman + Hit

MacGyver and Desi help a group of Syrian refugees who are being pursued by human traffickers. Also, in Los Angeles, Bozer is trapped in Oversight’s car which is rigged to explode.

Friends + Enemies + Border

When two American tourists go missing while doing a “No-Go Scavenger Hunt” through some of the world’s most dangerous countries, the Phoenix team goes undercover as backpackers to find them and bring them home alive.

No-Go + High-Voltage + Rescue

Matty’s ex-husband, Ethan, asks her for help when a criminal organization, S-Company, kidnaps his wife and daughter, forcing Matty to decide if she’s willing to commit treason in order to help him save his family. Also, Riley joins Billy Colton and Mama Colton on a mission to Paris and makes a heartbreaking discovery.

Treason + Heartbreak + Gum

MacGyver faces off with a cunning new adversary whose carefully crafted plans put Mac at the epicenter of an impossible choice: save the life of a friend, or save the lives of hundreds of innocents. Also, Mac receives new information that will drive a wedge between him and his father.

Mason + Cable + Choices

Ex-MI6 agent Russ Taylor recruits former Phoenix Foundation members Mac, Riley, Bozer, Matty and Desi to hunt down a bioweapon that’s planned to be used by a mysterious organization for a devastating attack on a major U.S. city.

Fire + Ashes + Legacy = Phoenix

Department of Defense General John Acosta recruits MacGyver to steal a highly classified project from a military lab in order to find flaws in its security. But when it’s discovered that the general is planning an attack using the weapon, Phoenix must stop Acosta before the weapon is uploaded.

Red Cell + Quantum + Cold + Committed

MacGyver and the team board a plane that’s mid-flight when the pilot has a heart attack, and discover the medical emergency was intentional.

Kid + Plane + Cable + Truck

As MacGyver works quickly to rescue survivors from a collapsed building in Germany, he discovers a new safety threat – a 1,000-pound undetonated bomb from World War II hidden beneath the rubble.

Windmill + Acetone + Celluloid + Firing Pin

In an attempt to find the main players in the Codex and cut off their match-fixing funding, Desi goes undercover to infiltrate a soccer team and find the corrupt player working with the shadow organization.

Soccer + Desi + Merchant + Titan

When Russ’ first love, Emilia, is kidnapped by the same rebels he fought during his private military contract days, he takes the Phoenix team to a small, impoverished town to rescue her and rid the town of the rebels for good.

Right + Wrong + Both + Neither

A double date descends into chaos when Mac and Desi witness a murder in the back of the restaurant, and as they work to find the killer, Riley tries to keep the secret about her and her friends’ “day jobs” from her new boyfriend, Aubrey.

Mac + Desi + Riley + Aubrey

After Oversight is almost killed in a bombing, he recruits Mac to help him find the suspected bomber, Mason. However, when Mason reveals he didn’t plant the bomb, the three team up to track down Codex, the shadow organization that set them up. Also, Mac meets his aunt Gwendolyn.

Father + Son + Father + Matriarch

While Mac’s friends surround him during his time of grief, Los Angeles’ power grid is taken hostage in a ransomware attack resulting in a citywide blackout, and the team discovers the code used was written by Riley years ago

Code + Artemis + Nuclear + N3mesis

When Mac is put into a dream state to help him recall key evidence found in Nikola Tesla’s secret lab that could stop Codex’s deadly plot, he encounters Nikola Tesla, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison…and his mother.

Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac

Mac is placed inside a fake prison cell with a top Codex operative, The Merchant, in order to gain his trust and get intel on their next move.

Psy-Op + Cell + Merchant + Birds

The Phoenix team is forever altered when MacGyver’s Aunt Gwen gets into his head about family and connection and convinces Mac and Riley to join Codex. Also, Matty and Russ take their concerns about Codex to the White House.

Loyalty + Family + Rogue + Hellfire

With Mac and Riley undercover with Codex, hoping to stop the organization from within, their mission is interrupted when Russ, Desi and the Phoenix team move to prevent Codex from detonating a weapon of mass destruction, with Mac and Riley caught in the crosshairs. Also, the team discovers Russ’ real reason for purchasing the Phoenix Foundation.

Save + The + Dam + World

Mac and the team infiltrate a glamorous hotel used as an international hideout for criminals to find a woman with vital information on Codex. However, their target has a new secret identity, including a completely new face.

Resort + Desi + Riley + Window Cleaner + Witness

When Taylor’s former protégé is killed while preventing a bio-weapon from falling into the wrong hands, Mac and the team must find the weapon so Desi can pull off the ultimate heist before it’s sold to a terrorist cell.

Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice

When Russ is kidnapped, Mac and the team must break out a previously murderous psychopath, now pacifist, from prison to help find him. Also, while on the run, Mac and Desi are forced to confront their relationship issues.

Eclipse + USMC-1856707 + Step Potential + Chain Lock + Ma

Mac's meeting with Desi's parents goes sideways when her brother finds himself in trouble and desperately needs their help. Also, Russ and Matty must ask an old nemesis for assistance when their new recruitment candidate is kidnapped.

Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason

Using a cryptic postcard as their only clue, Mac and the team must solve a fallen friend’s final case and bring him justice.

Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO

During COVID-19’s first stay-at-home order, as Mac, Bozer and Riley quarantine together, they try to stop a crime in progress at their neighbor’s house. Also, Russ’ romantic fling takes on a longer and more complicated turn when they quarantine together.

Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance

The secret experimental cancer treatment Mac’s developing with a friend is discovered when culprits ransack their lab, kidnap Mac’s partner and plan to use the research to create a powerful new nerve agent.

Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage

Mac and team rush to help when Matty’s former mentor, Ian Cain, and his embassy staff come down with a deadly, mysterious illness. Taylor and Bozer work with Jerry Ortega to infiltrate a Codex cell.

SOS + Hazmat + Ultrasound + Frequency + Malihini

When Mac and the team are unable to prevent Department of Defense intel from falling into Codex’s hands, Mac must scale a vertical cliff using only gear he can cobble together himself to prevent the info’s transmission.

Rails + Pitons + Pulley + Pipe + Salt

While on a mission to hunt down a Codex lead, Mac and the team discover Murdoc hacked their comms and has recorded them for months. Now, Mac and the team must stop Murdoc, who is working with Andrews, as they plot to kill thousands and reveal each Phoenix member’s most-guarded secrets.

Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower

Mac and Riley head overseas together to prevent a governmental collapse and inadvertently inhale new deadly microscopic technology.

C8H7ClO + Nano-Trackers + Resistance + Maldives + Mind Games

Mac, Desi and Russ go undercover during a royal Indian wedding to protect a princess whose policies could put her life in danger. Also, Russ and Sophia come face-to-face at the wedding, Bozer suspects Riley is up to her old hacking ways and Matty runs down a lead in hopes of getting to the bottom of Mac and Riley’s ingested nano-trackers,

Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna

While Mac and the team delve into the world of Italian car culture in order to track down a crime boss-in-hiding, Mac must lean on Desi when he discovers that he losing the ability to control his hands. Also, Mac and Desi move in together and Riley reveals the truth about her secret team of hackers to Russ.

Barn Find + Engine Oil + La Punzonatura + Lab Rats + Tachometer

Mac and Desi travel with Bozer to his childhood home when his aunt dies in a tragic accident, however, they soon discover she may have been murdered for trying to expose the city’s contaminated water supply. Also, Riley, Matty and Russ continue to follow leads on their nano-trackers investigation.

H2O + Orthophosphates + Mission City + Corrosion + Origins

When Mac and Riley go missing and wake up 24 hours later in a corn field with no memory of how they got there, they must unravel the mystery to find who took them, and how to get rid of the nanotrackers in their bodies, no matter the cost.

Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal

20-something Angus MacGyver creates a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening.

The Best Seasons of MacGyver

The Best Seasons of MacGyver

Season 5

Season 3

Season 4

Season 2

Season 1