Coming in October on FRONTLINE

One of the biggest foreign policy challenges America’s next president will inherit is the battle against ISIS.

This month, FRONTLINE brings you two new documentaries about the ongoing fight.

First, veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Martin Smith investigates U.S.-led efforts to destroy the terror group in Confronting ISIS — a two-hour deep dive with on-the-ground reporting from Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.

“We’ve found that the conditions that helped give rise to ISIS in the first place, including sectarianism, are still prevailing in many cases — and that America’s priorities and those of our allies don’t always align,” says Smith, who has been documenting conflicts in the Middle East for FRONTLINE for 15 years, most recently in Obama at War, The Rise of ISIS and Inside Assad’s Syria.

Confronting ISIS premieres on Oct. 11 at a special time: 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST.

Then, on Oct. 18, FRONTLINE and ProPublica team up to bring you Terror in Europe, an inside look at Europe’s fight against the rise of Islamic terrorism as ISIS loses ground in the Middle East, but tries to maintain relevancy by striking elsewhere. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo, Paris and Brussels attacks, correspondent Sebastian Rotella examines intelligence failures in combating the threat, and why Europe remains so vulnerable.

Plus: At 9 p.m. EST on Oct. 9, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will face off in their second presidential debate. Prepare for their rematch by watching an encore presentation of The Choice 2016, FRONTLINE’s acclaimed dual biography of Trump and Clinton, at 7 p.m. EST.

And finally, on Oct. 25, we’ll bring you Growing Up Trans, FRONTLINE’s 2015 documentary examining the struggles and choices facing transgender children, their families and their doctors.

Here’s a closer look at our October lineup:

Oct. 9: The Choice 2016

When The Choice 2016 premiered in September, The Wall Street Journal praised it as “an in-depth look at little-known and telling moments in the lives and careers of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton,” and The New York Times hailed it as “a striking example of how to avoid the journalistic pitfall sometimes labeled ‘false equivalency.’” From veteran filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, this two-hour special explores what has shaped Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, where they came from, how they lead and why they want to take on one of the most difficult jobs imaginable.

Oct. 11: Confronting ISIS

Beginning with the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014, this two-hour special examines two years of American-led efforts to defeat ISIS — and explores where the fight stands now.

Oct. 18: Terror in Europe

FRONTLINE and ProPublica go inside Europe’s fight against the rise of Islamic terrorism. As Europe reels from a terror onslaught, top security officials describe their struggle to contain the unprecedented threat revealed by attacks in France and Belgium.

Oct. 25: Growing Up Trans

Following the stories of eight transgender kids and their families, FRONTLINE takes viewers on an intimate and eye-opening journey inside a new medical frontier — where it’s now possible for kids who feel they were born in the wrong body to never have to go through the puberty of their biological sex.

Check your local PBS listings for airtimes.