The WORST episodes of American Crime
Every episode of American Crime ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of American Crime!
John Ridley's groundbreaking anthology drama series explores issues of race, class and gender in America. The show has met with critical acclaim, receiving ten Emmy Award nominations in 2015 for its inaugural season and four for its sophomore season.
#1 - Episode Two
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/12/2015
Thirty-six hours have passed and reality is starting to sink in for all sides. Barb and Russ must come face-to-face with the suspects, Carter and Aubry, for the first time at the arraignment hearing. For Aubry and Carter, the hearing is their first opportunity to see one another since being arrested. Elsewhere, Tony finds himself terrified and alone as he gets placed into juvenile detention. The gravity of the situation weighs heavy on his father, Alonzo. Hector's legal troubles are compounded when the investigators discover an existing warrant for his arrest in Mexico. With more unsettling facts being uncovered about Matt and Gwen, relations between Barb and Russ, and Tom and Eve grow increasingly strained as they disagree on where Matt's body should be buried.
#2 - Episode Three
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/19/2015
Nearly a month after the arraignment of the accused, the emotional complications of all involved continue to deepen.
#3 - Episode One
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2015
After a young couple is attacked in their home, the case sends shock waves into the community, stirring up tensions across racial lines.
#4 - Episode One
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/12/2017
An undocumented worker, Luis Salazar, travels from Mexico into the United States in search of a job, only to discover that modern servitude is thriving in the farmlands and agricultural communities. Coy Henson is a young, white American male, estranged from his family and hopelessly addicted to drugs. Hesby Farms, a struggling family-owned tomato farm, is forced to cut back on labor costs in order to be competitive in a market that continuously demands lower prices. Jeanette Hesby, who married into the family that owns the farm, begins to learn the shocking truth behind their wealth. Kimara Walters is a dedicated social worker who truly wants to help those in need. When Kimara meets Shae Reese, a 17-year-old prostitute, Kimara wants to help Shae get out of the business, turn her life around and testify against her pimp in court.
#5 - Episode Two
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/19/2017
While Luis finds himself sinking further into servitude on the farm, Isaac tries to protect Coy from abusive conditions in the fields. Meanwhile, Jeanette begins to wonder if her family is down-playing a trailer fire, which killed a number of their undocumented workers. Kimara tries to transition Shae from being an underage victimized prostitute to sustaining herself as she tries to convince Shae to testify against her former pimp.
#6 - Episode Four
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/26/2015
Russ and Barb's youngest son, Mark, comes to Modesto to support his estranged parents as emotions run high when new information allows Carter's defense team to be granted a bail hearing. Meanwhile, Aliyah wants her brother to stay away from Aubry; and Tony gets out of juvenile hall on a probationary release into Alonzo's care.
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#7 - Episode Six
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/9/2015
Barb turns to the media to draw attention to her son's case after Carter and Aubry are apprehended following their failed attempt to leave the country. Meanwhile, Tony goes to extremes to find out who attacked his sister; Aliyah worries about her brother's predicament now that he's back in jail; and Hector is pressured to testify by Palmer and Soderbergh.
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#8 - Episode One
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/6/2016
Season two is set in the United States Midwest at two high schools, one public and one private. Issues of sexual orientation and socioeconomic disparity come to a boil when lurid photos of a high school boy are posted on social media following a school party. Circumstances become more complicated when the boy accuses two players on an elite private high school championship basketball team of drugging, assaulting and then posting the pictures of him online.
#9 - Episode Seven
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/16/2015
Tony's arrested again and sent back to juvenile detention after an incriminating video surfaces. Meanwhile, Aubry is asked to testify against Carter, who's in solitary confinement, in order to stay out of jail; Mark's fiancée, Richelle, has an awkward first meeting with Barb; and Aliyah plans a peaceful demonstration to support her brother when the prosecution isn't interested in new evidence that could help him.
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#10 - Episode Two
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/13/2016
Annie calls 911 to get help for Taylor, but it's not easy getting the authorities to pay attention to the alleged crime. Meanwhile, Leslie makes sure the Leyland School is ready for the impending investigation. Terri has an intervention with Kevin and Eric's truth comes out.
#11 - Episode Five
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/2/2015
Carter and Aubry are reunited after his release, but she convinces him to make a run for Canada to keep him from facing trial and a possibility of the death penalty. Meanwhile, Mark tells Barb about his fiancée after Matt's funeral in Oakland; and Alonzo tries to repair his relationship with Tony.
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#12 - Episode Seven
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/23/2017
In the days following a fatal altercation in the webcam house, Dustin reaches out to Kimara for help, realizing he is no longer safe. Kimara struggles with the burden of a difficult moral choice and decides to take time off of work at her shelter. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Clair’s volatile marriage continues to unravel, which in turn makes Gabrielle commit an ill-conceived act based on fear for her life. Jeanette becomes alarmed when Raelyn overreacts to a random drug test request.
#13 - Episode Nine
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/30/2015
Following the march in support of Carter that erupted in violence, Aliyah and her lawyer use the turn in public opinion to leave the court no choice but to move up Carter's preliminary examination date. Emotions felt by the families on both sides of the case come to a head when Aubry's mother, Ruth, sets up a meeting with Aliyah. Meanwhile, Russ continues to work on Matt and Gwen's house as a means to fill a void created by his regretful decision to abandon his family years previously. Desperate to do everything he can for a now fearful Tony in juvenile detention, Alonzo turns to an unlikely source for help. After Aubry receives news from Carter, she is left feeling emotionally distraught. She makes the decision to completely change the course of the case by going on record with an incendiary statement.
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#14 - Episode Eight
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/23/2015
As news of Aliyah's organized march for Carter's cause spreads, tensions and emotions within the community rise. The city tries to stifle the demonstration and the DA attempts to offer Carter a plea deal. Demonized and the target of violent threats, Barb refuses to back down and desperately rallies her own group of supporters to attend the march. Once again placed in juvenile detention, Tony could be charged as an adult. Alonzo urges him to testify against Carter to gain some leniency. Hector reconnects with his girlfriend and promises to turn his life around for her and their daughter. Unemployed and out of options, Russ turns to Mark for help in allowing him to move into Matt and Gwen's house.
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#15 - Episode Three
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/26/2017
Luis arrives at the Hesby Farm and receives important information about his missing son while Coy witnesses a horrific incident that changes his entire perception about life in the field and confirms his dark new reality. Meanwhile, Shae begins to reconsider her decision to stay in a shelter, and Kimara receives difficult personal news. After a deep and revealing conversation, Jeanette and JD attend the workers’ rally.
#16 - Episode Five
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/3/2016
In the hours after Eric is forced to openly discuss his sexuality, Taylor must defend his actions on the night of his alleged assault to the police; Anne struggles with the discovery that her son is gay; a critical decision by the detectives makes some involved feel as though the worst may be over; and at Marshall high school, Chris deals with the aftermath of a seemingly innocuous incident that begins to take on racial overtones.
#17 - Episode Four
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/27/2016
Following the revelation that evidence was found on Taylor’s clothing, the parents of the basketball players and faculty of The Leyland School prepare for invasive DNA testing on the team. The impending test forces Eric to make a painful revelation, while at the same time, Taylor attempts to return to normalcy as he matriculates back into a local public high school.
#18 - Episode Four
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/2/2017
Luis learns about the fate of his son, as Coy devises a plan to get himself off the farm. Jeanette tries to plead her case about the working conditions in the fields to Laurie Ann while Shae comes to a decision that will affect the rest of her life. Meanwhile, business owner Nicholas Coates struggles with making a profit in a market that continuously demands lower prices while his wife, Clair, decides to hire and provide a working visa for a Haitian woman, Gabrielle, to be their son’s nanny.
#19 - Episode Five
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/9/2017
Consequences of forced labor continue to roil, as Shae contemplates having another abortion while Dustin introduces her to the world of online sex work. Jeanette makes a decision that results in a disheartening situation, as she struggles to accept the value of her self-worth. Meanwhile, Kimara tries to help another troubled girl while Nicholas and Clair’s troubles worsen, and Gabriella experiences an unsettling incident that makes her realize her new life isn’t exactly what she hoped it would be.
#20 - Episode Six
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/16/2017
Nicholas is distraught with the reality of his failing business and takes his frustration out on Clair. Upset about her deteriorating marriage, Clair becomes increasingly controlling over Gabriella. Jeanette attempts to find a job while continuing to live with her sister Raelyn, and Kimara is faced with a difficult decision that will test her morals. Meanwhile, Shae begins to feel as though she’s being shortchanged for her work in the webcam house, which leads to a tragic confrontation.
#21 - Episode Ten
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/7/2015
Revelations from Aubry's recent statements have far-reaching implications as new and damaging allegations against Matt Skokie's role in the incident come to light. This setback is finally one that from which Barb will be unable to recover, leaving Russ to pick up the fight. Carter is handed a new lease on life while Hector's prospects turn for the worst after Aubry's account renders his testimony regarding Carter and the murder weapon inconsequential. Hector's immediately deported and turned over to the Mexican authorities. Elsewhere, though Alonzo struggles to find character witnesses for Tony's upcoming hearing, his family unifies.
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#22 - Episode Three
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/20/2016
A news article goes online describing what happened at the captain's party and naming Kevin as a participant in the alleged assault on Taylor. Meanwhile, Anne is forced to defend herself after the item is published; and new evidence is revealed that paints a murkier picture of what really happened on the night in question.
#23 - Episode Ten
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/9/2016
Sebastian gets a taste of his own medicine and is stunned to discover that someone is usurping his cause and releasing emails, texts and other pieces off personal information about numerous Leyland families, initiating a chain reaction that could cause the downfall all of those involved with the events of the alleged sexual assault on Taylor, and everything that has transpired since; Dan and Steph must deal with the fallout of their daughter Becca being arrested for supplying drugs to Taylor the day of the murder; Michael goes to extreme measures to ensure that son Kevin won't be implicated as being complicit in the beating of Taylor, which doesn't sit well with Terri; and Chris makes a decision about his future with Marshall High School.
#24 - Episode Six
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/10/2016
Against the school lawyer's advice, Leslie decides to take it upon herself to welcome Eric back to Leyland with a school-wide showing of empathy. But Eric soon discovers that his return does not sit well with some of his fellow basketball team members; Anne decides that she'd rather take the school to court over what happened to her son, Taylor, than accept a settlement, and Chris finds himself being vilified when students begin picketing Marshall high school after three Hispanic students are suspended for fighting with a black student, who received no punishment whatsoever.
#25 - Episode Nine
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/2/2016
Following the on-campus murder of a fellow Leyland student, the entire community is forced to re-examine all of the choices they have made in the wake of the sexual encounter between Eric and Taylor; leaked personal information implicates both Kevin and Becca to the shooting; Sebastian targets the Leyland school by releasing its most sensitive information online, which causes Leslie to take drastic measures; and at Marshall High, Chris finds himself at a career crossroads when he faces a school review board.