About this season
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.
Episodes (21)
1. A Thousand Cuts
4.0Aired 8 January 2021 • 100 min
With press freedom under threat in the Philippines, we go inside the escalating war between the press and the government. The documentary follows Maria Ressa, a renowned journalist who has become a top target of President Duterte's crackdown on the news media.
2. President Biden
2.4Aired 19 January 2021 • 54 min
The story of how crisis and tragedy prepared Joe Biden to become America’s next president. Those who know him best describe the searing moments that shaped President-elect Biden and what those challenges reveal about how he will govern.
3. Trump's American Carnage
2.1Aired 26 January 2021 • 54 min
From his first days as president to his last, how Trump stoked division, violence, and insurrection. FRONTLINE investigates Trump’s siege on his enemies, the media, and even the leaders of his own party, who for years ignored the warning signs of what was to come.
4. China's COVID Secrets
2.5Aired 2 February 2021 • 84 min
The untold story of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and how China responded. Chinese scientists and doctors, international disease experts and health officials reveal missed opportunities to suppress the outbreak, and lessons for the world.
5. Iraq's Assassins/ COVID in Yemen
2.3Aired 9 February 2021 • 54 min
How Iranian-backed Shia militias are terrorizing Iraq. FRONTLINE investigates allegations that militias are threatening and killing critics with impunity and targeting U.S. interests. Also in this hour, how COVID is worsening Yemen's humanitarian crisis.
6. Death Is Our Business/ Love, Life & the Virus
2.1Aired 23 March 2021 • 54 min
At Black-owned funeral homes in New Orleans, COVID-19 reshapes the grieving process. How the pandemic has transformed mourning in a city known for its jazz-filled funerals. Also in this hour, follow a mother’s fight to survive COVID-19 and see her newborn baby. FRONTLINE filmmaker Oscar Guerra documents how the coronavirus hit one immigrant family, their struggle to be reunited, and the community that rallied around them.
7. American Insurrection
2.1Aired 13 April 2021 • 84 min
Over the last three years, FRONTLINE has collaborated with ProPublica to investigate the rise of extremism in America. In the aftermath of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, FRONTLINE and ProPublica team up again to examine how far-right groups were emboldened and encouraged by former President Trump and how individuals were radicalized and brought into the political landscape.
8. The Virus That Shook the World (1)
2.1Aired 26 April 2021 • 115 min
The epic story of how people around the world lived through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, from lockdowns to funerals to protests. Filming across the globe and using extensive personal video and local footage, FRONTLINE documented how people and countries responded to COVID-19 across cultures, races, faiths and privilege.
9. The Virus That Shook the World (2)
2.3Aired 27 April 2021 • 114 min
The epic story of people around the world living through the year of the pandemic continues in a second part. With extensive personal video and local footage, FRONTLINE shows the differing struggles, beliefs and responses, across cultures, race, faith and privilege.
10. Escaping Eritrea
3.5Aired 4 May 2021 • 54 min
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.
11. The Healthcare Divide
2.1Aired 18 May 2021 • 54 min
FRONTLINE and NPR investigate the growing inequities in American healthcare exposed by COVID-19. The documentary examines how pressure to increase profits and uneven government support is widening the divide between rich and poor hospitals, endangering care for the most needy.
12. The Jihadist
2.8Aired 1 June 2021 • 54 min
A powerful Syrian militant called a terrorist by the U.S. seeks a new relationship with the West. In his first interview with a Western journalist, former Al Qaeda commander Abu Mohammad al-Jolani says his fight is with Syrian President Assad, not the U.S.
13. Germany's Neo-Nazis & the Far Right
2.1Aired 29 June 2021 • 54 min
FRONTLINE investigates the rise of far-right extremism and violence in Germany. The documentary traces how extremists have carried out terror plots and attacks on Jews and migrants, infiltrated the security services, and what authorities are doing to confront the growing problem.
14. The Power of the Fed
2.8Aired 13 July 2021 • 53 min
When COVID struck, the Federal Reserve stepped in to try to avert economic crisis. As the country’s central bank continues to pump billions of dollars into the financial system daily, who is benefitting and at what cost?
15. Leaving Afghanistan/India's Rape Scandal
2.8Aired 20 July 2021 • 54 min
FRONTLINE investigates the consequences of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. With exclusive access to a militant wing of the Taliban, correspondent Najibullah Quraishi tells the story of Iran’s growing influence across Afghanistan. Also this hour, a report on politics and rape in India.
16. In the Shadow of 9/11
2.1Aired 10 August 2021 • 114 min
How seven men in Miami 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.
17. America After 9/11
2.1Aired 7 September 2021 • 114 min
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 terrorist attacks and the devastating consequences that unfolded across three presidencies. This two-hour special offers an epic re-examination of the decisions that changed the world and transformed America.
18. Boeing's Fatal Flaw
2.8Aired 14 September 2021 • 54 min
In an investigation with The New York Times, FRONTLINE examines the commercial pressures, flawed design and failed oversight behind Boeing’s 737 Max jet and the crashes that killed 346 people.
19. Taliban Takeover
2.8Aired 12 October 2021 • 54 min
The Taliban take over Afghanistan, and the threat of ISIS and Al Qaeda intensifies. On the ground, reporter Najibullah Quraishi investigates uncertainty and fear among the Afghan people and revisits the lead-up to the U.S. defeat and the Taliban’s return.
20. Pandora Papers/ Massacre in El Salvador
3.2Aired 9 November 2021 • 54 min
A leak reveals hidden assets and deals of the wealthy and powerful; the legacy of a 1981 massacre in El Salvador.
21. Shots Fired
2.1Aired 23 November 2021 • 54 min
Amid record police shootings in Utah, an investigation into the use of deadly force in the state. With local journalism partner The Salt Lake Tribune, FRONTLINE examines police training, tactics and accountability, as well as racial disparities in the way force is used.