David Fanning
Director
Frontline (1983)
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 extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
Released Jan. 17, 1983
Episode 76 min
14+
Genres: Documentary, News
Keywords: tmdb.investigative-journalism, mdblist.has-trailer, imdb.political-superpower, imdb.u-s-military, imdb.armed-forces, imdb.one-word-title, imdb.american-politics + 5 more, imdb.public-affairs, imdb.investigative-journalism, imdb.military, imdb.power-politics, imdb.reenactment
Watch Providers: PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel
Production Companies: WGBH Boston, Frontline
Network: PBS
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S38E1 - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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.
Oct. 1, 2019, midnight
S38E2 - On The President's Orders
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.
Oct. 8, 2019, midnight
S38E3 - Zero Tolerance
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.
Oct. 22, 2019, midnight
S38E4 - Fire in Paradise
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.
Oct. 29, 2019, midnight
S38E5 - In the Age of AI
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.
Nov. 5, 2019, midnight
S38E6 - Kids Caught in the Crackdown/ Iraq's Secret Sex Trade
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.
Nov. 12, 2019, midnight
S38E7 - For Sama
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.
Nov. 19, 2019, midnight
S38E8 - Targeting El Paso
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.
Jan. 7, 2020, midnight
S38E9 - America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump (1)
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.
Jan. 13, 2020, midnight
S38E10 - America's Great Divide: From Obama to Trump (2)
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.
Jan. 13, 2020, midnight
S38E11 - Taliban Country/The Luanda Leaks
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.
Jan. 21, 2020, midnight
S38E12 - Battle for Hong Kong
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.
Feb. 11, 2020, midnight
S38E13 - Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos
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.
Feb. 18, 2020, midnight
S38E14 - NRA Under Fire
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.
March 24, 2020, midnight
S38E15 - Plastic Wars
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.
March 31, 2020, midnight
S38E16 - China Undercover
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.
April 7, 2020, midnight
S38E17 - Coronavirus Pandemic
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.
April 21, 2020, midnight
S38E18 - Inside Italy's COVID War
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.
May 19, 2020, midnight
S38E19 - The Virus: What Went Wrong?
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?
June 16, 2020, midnight
S38E20 - Opioids, Inc.
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.
June 23, 2020, midnight
S38E21 - Once Upon a Time in Iraq
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.
July 14, 2020, midnight
Network: PBS
Episode Runtime: 76 min.
Season Runtime: 64372 min.
Released: Jan. 17, 1983
Last Air Date: Dec. 9, 2025, midnight
Next Air Date: Dec. 16, 2025, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: TV-PG
Common sense age: 14+
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