The worst episodes of Frontline
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden
Amid the historic coronavirus pandemic, economic hardship, and a reckoning over racism, this November, Americans will decide who leads the nation for the next four years: President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden. Ahead of the 2020 election, FRONTLINE's critically acclaimed series "The Choice" returns with interwoven investigative biographies of both men, focusing on how they have responded in moments of crisis.In this 2-hour special from veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, hear from friends, family, colleagues, and adversaries about the challenges that shaped Trump and Biden's lives and could inform how they confront the crises facing the nation at this pivotal juncture.
- 02
McConnell, the GOP & the Court
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.
- 03
After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics
A year after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, FRONTLINE, Futuro Investigates, and The Texas Tribune document the community's trauma and the fight over assault rifles. Journalist Maria Hinojosa examines the police response, Uvalde's history of struggle, and its efforts to heal.
- 04
From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker and chronicler of U.S. politics Michael Kirk and his team, this documentary traces the U.S. response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the devastating consequences that unfolded across four presidencies.Drawing on both new interviews and those from the dozens of documentaries Kirk and his award-winning team made in the years after 9/11, this two-hour special offers an epic re-examination of the decisions that changed the world and transformed America. From the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the January 6 insurrection, America After 9/11 exposes the legacy of September 11 — and the ongoing challenge it poses for the president and the country.
- 05
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- 07
Strike on Iran: The Nuclear Question (2025 Version)
Investigating Iran's nuclear program in the aftermath of the U.S. and Israeli strikes. Using rare on the ground access in Iran and in-depth forensic analysis, an immersive investigation with the Washington Post, Evident Media, and Bellingcat.
- 08
Amid concerns of a widening conflict in the Middle East, correspondent Ramita Navai reports from the West Bank about the growing tensions on the ground. With the war raging in Gaza, Navai investigates rising support for militant groups, including Hamas, since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel's ongoing military campaign in the West Bank, and the implications for a region on edge.Note: "Israel's Second Front" ran for 30 minutes in this one-hour time slot. FRONTLINE re-aired "Failure at the Fence" for the other 30 minutes, which premiered December 19, 2023, with "Netanyahu, America and the Road to War in Gaza."
- 09
The inside story of President Trump's gamble to confront China over trade: Reporting from the U.S. and China, FRONTLINE and NPR investigate what led the world's two largest economies to the brink, and the billions at stake.
- 10
Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah
FRONTLINE recounts the enduring story of the Battle of Fallujah, told by the people who lived through it. In this documentary from filmmaker James Bluemel (Once Upon A Time In Iraq, Exodus), soldiers, journalists, and ordinary Iraqis recount one of the defining episodes of the Iraq War twenty years after the invasion.
- 11
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.
- 12
FRONTLINE investigates the lives and views of Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz as they run for vice president. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal the influences and ideas they would bring to the White House
- 13
An unprecedented undercover investigation into one of the world's most repressive regimes — Eritrea. Exclusive secret footage and testimony shed new light on shocking allegations of torture, arbitrary detention, and indefinite forced conscription.
- 14
How seven men in Miami (the Liberty City Seven) were indicted for the biggest alleged Al Qaeda plot since 9/11. From the director of Leaving Neverland, the bizarre story of an FBI sting that led to a terror prosecution, though the men had no weapons or connection to Al Qaeda.
- 15
Around the country and across the world, the threat of a recession is looming, and economic uncertainty is rising as markets, businesses, and individuals adjust to a new reality: the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates and pulling back on its epic monetary experiment that started with the Great Financial Crisis.From the award-winning team behind The Facebook Dilemma and Amazon Empire, the two-hour documentary Age of Easy Money investigates how the Fed's experiment has changed the American economy and what it means that the era may be over.
- 16
Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court
As controversy erupts around Clarence and Ginni Thomas, FRONTLINE tells the inside story of one of Washington's most powerful couple's path to power and influence. 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, politics, and the Supreme Court.
- 17
The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump
FRONTLINE investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America.Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, who have made five prior installments of The Choice over the past 25 years, sat down with Trump and Harris' friends, advisors, and critics, as well as authors, journalists, and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates' lives, going all the way back to their childhoods.What emerges in The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump is the story of two fighters: One seeking vindication and promising a return to greatness, and the other seeking to move beyond the past and promising a greater future.
- 18
FRONTLINE traces Donald Trump's return to the presidency, overcoming unprecedented obstacles and opposition. With insider interviews, the documentary examines defining moments over his life and career, his 2020 election loss, felony convictions and his historic comeback.
- 19
How did Michael Flynn go from being an elite soldier overseas to waging a "spiritual war" in America?In collaboration with the Associated Press, FRONTLINE examines how the retired three-star general has emerged as a leader in a far-right movement that puts its brand of Christianity at the center of American civic life and institutions and is attracting election deniers, conspiracists and extremists from around the country.
- 20
Putin's Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes
FRONTLINE and The Associated Press go inside Russia's war on Ukraine, tracing a pattern of atrocities committed by Russian troops focusing on the Kyiv suburbs, such as Bucha, where some of the most shocking carnage was found.From award-winning director Tom Jennings, producer Annie Wong, AP global investigative reporter Erika Kinetz and her AP colleagues, the joint documentary draws on exclusive original footage, as well as interviews with Ukrainian citizens and prosecutors, top government officials, and international war crimes experts.FRONTLINE and the AP uncover exclusive and harrowing evidence that links possible war crimes in Bucha through the chain of command to one of Russia's top generals — evidence that prosecutors hope might help build a case against Russian President Vladimir Putin in court. But the joint investigation also explores the challenges of holding Putin and other Russian leaders accountable.
- 21
FRONTLINE investigates Russian President Vladimir Putin's clashes with multiple American presidents as he's tried to rebuild the Russian empire. Veteran filmmaker Michael Kirk (Putin's Revenge, Putin's Road to War) and his team trace the miscalculations and missteps of U.S. presidents over five administrations, culminating in Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
- 22
From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians
This FRONTLINE series is an intellectual and visual guide to the new and controversial historical evidence which challenges familiar assumptions about the life of Jesus and the epic rise of Christianity.From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians tells the epic story of the rise of Christianity. The four hours explore the life and death of Jesus, and the men and women whose belief, conviction, and martyrdom created the religion we now know as Christianity.Drawing upon historical evidence, the series challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about Christian origins. Archaeological finds have yielded new understandings of Jesus' class and social status; fresh interpretations have transformed earlier ideas about the identity of the early Christians and their communities.Through engaging on-camera interviews with twelve scholars--New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians--the series presents their contributions to this intellectual revolution. For example, they talk about thequest for the historical Jesus - what can we really know? And how do we know it?The scholars together represent a range of viewpoints and diversity of faiths and a shared commitment to bring new ways of thinking about Christianity to a public audience. They discuss the value in a historical approach to Jesus and the Bible and whether Christian faith can be reconciled with such an approach.
- 23
The inside story of Russian President Vladimir Putin's conflict with the U.S., including his grievances and efforts to exact revenge.
- 24
Revenge may have motivated Russian President Vladimir Putin to target American democracy; the U.S. confronts Putin about Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
- 25
FRONTLINE goes inside President Trump's fight against the investigation of his campaign and whether he obstructed justice.With the threat of impeachment growing, this two-hour documentary from filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team traces Trump's unprecedented war against the special counsel, the FBI, and even his own attorney general.
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