Overview of 'Frontline' Season 40

Frontline (1983)

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.

Writing:

Ric Esther Bienstock
Neil Docherty
David Fanning

Stars:

Release Date: 1983-01-17
Seasons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

7.5/10

Country: US
Language: English
Runtime: 55

Season 40 Episode List

Episode 1 - A Thousand Cuts
Release Date: 2021-01-08
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.
Episode 2 - President Biden
Release Date: 2021-01-19
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.
Episode 3 - Trump's American Carnage
Release Date: 2021-01-26
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.
Episode 4 - China's COVID Secrets
Release Date: 2021-02-02
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.
Episode 5 - Iraq's Assassins/ COVID in Yemen
Release Date: 2021-02-09
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.
Episode 6 - Death Is Our Business/ Love, Life & the Virus
Release Date: 2021-03-23
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.
Episode 7 - American Insurrection
Release Date: 2021-04-13
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.
Episode 8 - The Virus That Shook the World (1)
Release Date: 2021-04-26
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.
Episode 9 - The Virus That Shook the World (2)
Release Date: 2021-04-27
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.
Episode 10 - Escaping Eritrea
Release Date: 2021-05-04
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.
Episode 11 - The Healthcare Divide
Release Date: 2021-05-18
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.
Episode 12 - The Jihadist
Release Date: 2021-06-01
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.
Episode 13 - Germany's Neo-Nazis & the Far Right
Release Date: 2021-06-29
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.
Episode 14 - The Power of the Fed
Release Date: 2021-07-13
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?
Episode 15 - Leaving Afghanistan/India's Rape Scandal
Release Date: 2021-07-20
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.
Episode 16 - In the Shadow of 9/11
Release Date: 2021-08-10
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.
Episode 17 - America After 9/11
Release Date: 2021-09-07
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.
Episode 18 - Boeing's Fatal Flaw
Release Date: 2021-09-14
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.
Episode 19 - Taliban Takeover
Release Date: 2021-10-12
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.
Episode 20 - Pandora Papers/ Massacre in El Salvador
Release Date: 2021-11-09
A leak reveals hidden assets and deals of the wealthy and powerful; the legacy of a 1981 massacre in El Salvador.
Episode 21 - Shots Fired
Release Date: 2021-11-23
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.