The WORST episodes of Manhattan

Every episode of Manhattan ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Manhattan!

Set against the backdrop of the greatest race against time in the history of science — the mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb — follows the brilliant but flawed scientists and their families in Los Alamos as they attempt to coexist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.

Last Updated: 9/9/2024Network: WGN AmericaStatus: Ended
The World of Tomorrow
star
7.50
393 votes

#1 - The World of Tomorrow

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/2015

Frank attempts to navigate his new place on the Hill.

Directors: Daniel Stern
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Overlord
star
7.53
390 votes

#2 - Overlord

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/3/2015

Oppenheimer puts Charlie in a precarious position.

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Behold the Lord High Executioner
star
7.56
409 votes

#3 - Behold the Lord High Executioner

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/24/2015

The hunt for a Soviet spy turns deadly.

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The Threshold
star
7.57
438 votes

#4 - The Threshold

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/27/2015

Liza faces off against Darrow as Abby learns a secret about Oppenheimer.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
Writer: Lila Byock
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Damnatio Memoriae
star
7.59
515 votes

#5 - Damnatio Memoriae

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/13/2015

Charlie is forced into a new leadership role in the race to build the world's first atomic bomb.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
Writer: Sam Shaw
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33
star
7.62
372 votes

#6 - 33

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/17/2015

The scientists and the Army battle for control of the bomb.

Directors: Kimberly Peirce
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The Hive
star
7.63
773 votes

#7 - The Hive

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/10/2014

As the news of Sid’s death reverberates through the compound, the base begins cracking down on security on The Hill, which creates new complications for the scientists’ work. With all files and case studies on lockdown, Frank’s team is locked in an uphill battle to resolve the Implosion experiment without Sid’s expertise, leading Frank to resort to creative measures. Charlie grapples with unsettling feelings about his group. Abby starts a new chapter. An MP looks for penance for his actions.

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Brooklyn
star
7.63
397 votes

#8 - Brooklyn

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/8/2015

Days before the world's first nuclear explosion, everyone races to secure their place in history.

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Fatherland
star
7.65
446 votes

#9 - Fatherland

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/20/2015

Frank discovers the real reason he's been taken captive.

Directors: Daniel Attias
Writer: Scott Brown
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Human Error
star
7.65
372 votes

#10 - Human Error

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/2015

As the project falters, Charlie turns to an unlikely partner for help.

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The Prisoner's Dilemma
star
7.69
841 votes

#11 - The Prisoner's Dilemma

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/3/2014

A special shipment of the first sample of plutonium arrives at The Hill – one that could change everything. With the future of his team up in the air, Frank knows that having some of the precious material could make all the difference. As Frank desperately tries to keep his team alive, he learns that Liao has been detained by a covert outside party. Liza helps Abby find creative ways to survive life on The Hill. As the wives grow closer, competition escalates between Frank and Charlie in the lab.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
Writer: Sam Shaw
Watch Now:Amazon
The New World
star
7.69
693 votes

#12 - The New World

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/7/2014

Helen and Charlie deal with a crisis. Abby embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

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Spooky Action at a Distance
star
7.72
618 votes

#13 - Spooky Action at a Distance

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/21/2014

Charlie and Frank are forced to work together for the good of the project. When they run into a problem, Frank turns to an unconventional resource.

Directors: Andrew Bernstein
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Tangier
star
7.73
593 votes

#14 - Tangier

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/5/2014

A development overseas re-invigorates the hunt for a spy on The Hill. Charlie and Abby make a sacrifice when the plan with Frank is threatened.

Writer: Scott Brown
Watch Now:Amazon
The Understudy
star
7.74
598 votes

#15 - The Understudy

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/28/2014

Wives explore their inner desires. Visit from dead "spy's" spouse. Winter explores an unusual solution to ignition problem.

Writer: Tom Spezialy
Watch Now:Amazon
You Always Hurt the One You Love
star
7.75
958 votes

#16 - You Always Hurt the One You Love

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/27/2014

Frank Winter and his team have been recruited to work on a project even they could know nothing about until their arrival. Once inside “The Hill,” a middle class bubble on a dusty foothill in the New Mexico desert, they begin to sense that this is no ordinary assignment. In fact, they are living in a town with the world’s highest concentration of geniuses, yet it can’t be found on any map, a place where men and women are torn between duty and their moral values, husbands and wives conceal the truth from each other and their families, the military keeps secrets from the scientists they chaperone, and the scientists keep secrets from each other.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
Writer: Sam Shaw
Watch Now:Amazon
A New Approach to Nuclear Cosmology
star
7.76
754 votes

#17 - A New Approach to Nuclear Cosmology

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/24/2014

Tensions between Charlie and Frank escalate after Charlie takes a public jab at Babbit’s past, raising red flags and drawing the attention of Occam – leading Frank to find creative ways to protect his mentor. Liza suffers several blows of her own – and points the finger at the army.

Directors: Bill D'Elia
Watch Now:Amazon
Perestroika
star
7.76
627 votes

#18 - Perestroika

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 10/19/2014

Frank is given a life-changing opportunity. Charlie finds himself in the U.S. Army's hot seat.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
Writer: Sam Shaw
Watch Now:Amazon
Acceptable Limits
star
7.76
706 votes

#19 - Acceptable Limits

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/31/2014

When Charlie is chosen to go on an important trip to Tennessee to see the country’s first plutonium reactor, tensions in the Isaacs’ marriage only deepen when Abby learns that Charlie is accompanied by Helen on his trip. Fritz has a medical emergency, and Frank’s attempt to intervene leads to a shocking discovery.

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The Gun Model
star
7.78
655 votes

#20 - The Gun Model

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/12/2014

Akley becomes vulnerable when he tries to fix Thin Man's shortcomings.

Directors: Daniel Attias
Writer: Lila Byock
Watch Now:Amazon
Last Reasoning of Kings
star
7.97
787 votes

#21 - Last Reasoning of Kings

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/17/2014

Frank grapples with haunting memories from his past and his erratic behavior gets called into question, putting his team’s loyalty to the test. The Hill receives a visit from a famed physicist, whose sudden arrival sparks curiosity among the scientists – and Charlie is assigned to escort him around the compound. Callie plots an escape.

Directors: Paris Barclay
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The Second Coming
star
8.03
646 votes

#22 - The Second Coming

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/14/2014

When British scientists, who have done extensive work on an Implosion model similar to Frank’s, visit The Hill, Frank gains some unsettling perspective. Charlie grapples with whether to tell Akley about the revelation he made about Plutonium, as well as his fate with their group. As Charlie and Frank both face grim predictions about the future of their prototypes, the stakes at home are raised when Abby discovers what is really happening to the Jews in Europe.

Directors: Daniel Stern
Watch Now:Amazon
Jupiter
star
8.23
420 votes

#23 - Jupiter

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2015

A new era is ushered in with the first test of an atomic weapon.

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
Writer: Sam Shaw
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV