A Month of New Documentaries Starts Tonight.

Since the summer began, we’ve seen dramatic and serious events unfold both at home and abroad — from war and shifting geopolitics in the Middle East, to the Trump administration’s showdown with the courts over presidential power.    

At FRONTLINE, we’ve been working hard to bring you a robust lineup of new documentaries that go deep beyond the headlines of the latest tumultuous news in our country and the world.      

That lineup begins tonight, and I hope you’ll find that it reflects some of the most special aspects of FRONTLINE: our commitment to stay on complex stories as they evolve, and our consistent toughness and fairness as we do so

• Tonight, July 1, we investigate Syria’s uncertain future under jihadist-turned-statesman Ahmad al-Sharaa. In Syria After Assad, longtime correspondent Martin Smith — who has covered the Middle East for decades, and who four years ago became the first Western journalist to interview al-Sharaa — travels the country tracing the onetime Al Qaeda commander’s rise to power. The film examines al-Sharaa’s surprise overthrow of the Assad regime after a nearly 14-year war that killed hundreds of thousands of people —  and through revealing interviews, sheds light on emerging threats to the country’s stability. This is the latest documentary from Smith and producer Marcela Gaviria and their team, and part of more than a decade’s worth of on-the-ground FRONTLINE reporting from Syria. Watch at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App starting tonight at 7/6c, or watch on your PBS station (check local listings) and on our YouTube channel starting at 10/9c.
• On July 15, Trump’s Power & the Rule of Law goes inside the high-stakes showdown between President Trump and the courts over presidential power. From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, this 90-minute special draws on new interviews with Trump allies, opponents, and experts to examine how the president is testing the extent of executive power, the legal pushback, and the impact on the rule of law. The documentary will be supplemented by the latest installment of our Transparency Project, illuminating this chapter in our country’s history from multiple perspectives with sharpness and clarity. Trump’s Power & the Rule of Law builds on roughly 10 years of reporting on President Trump by the Kirk team.
• Then, on July 29, we turn our focus back to the Middle East to examine the dramatic eruption of war between Israel and Iran, the U.S. role and the broader implications for the region. From producers James Jacoby and Anya Bourg, Remaking the Middle East: Israel vs. Iran explores Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long campaign to defeat Iran, the conflict with the Palestinians, and his difficult relations with the U.S. over peace and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The film is the latest installment of many years of thoughtful, in-depth reporting from FRONTLINE on Middle East geopolitics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the landmark Shattered Dreams of Peace and last year’s A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians. 

Also this month, with our editorial partner The Associated Press, we will release 2000 Meters to Andriivka theatrically in New York City. This is the second feature documentary from the Oscar®-winning team behind 20 Days in Mariupol, which includes Ukrainian filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning AP journalist Mstyslav Chernov, producer and editor Michelle Mizner, and me. It premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it has since won multiple awards for its visceral portrayal of soldiers fighting on the front lines of the Ukraine war. If you are in New York City, learn how to see the documentary at Film Forum starting July 25.

And finally, in recent days, we’ve been reflecting on the loss of a cherished colleague, the legendary journalist Bill Moyers. His final film with us, the decades-spanning Two American Families: 1991-2024, won an Emmy Award last week on the same day his death was announced. I was privileged to speak with Bill about this special documentary last year on our FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast, and we are proud to share that an encore presentation of Two American Families: 1991-2024 will air on PBS stations next week, on July 8.

Thank you for engaging with FRONTLINE’s journalism and supporting our work.

We believe that context matters; that depth does, too; and that you deserve reporting that is rigorously vetted, fair and worthy of your trust.

That’s exactly what we’re committed to bringing you this month and always.