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The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 10

Every episode of American Playhouse Season 10 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 10!

Binge this in 1d 2h•Peaking at 8.8/10

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 7 - O Pioneers!
    8.8/10(37 votes)

    S10:E7

    A young woman inherits her father's farm after he dies. Over the years, she overcomes challenges and turns it into a success, all the while yearning for her childhood love to return.

    Directors:Kirk Browning, Kevin Kuske
    Writer:Darrah Cloud

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  2. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 1 - Into the Woods
    8.7/10(3219 votes)

    S10:E1

    In a woods filled with magic and fairy tale characters, a baker and his wife set out to end the curse put on them by their neighbor, a spiteful witch.

    Director:James Lapine
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 4 - The Sunset Gang
    8.1/10(20 votes)

    S10:E4

    Three stories about the Jewish elderly in Florida: in 'Yiddish', a man and a woman, both married to others, form a bond through their native language; in 'The Detective', a married couple who have grown apart come together again as they pursue a thief in the neighborhood; and in 'The Home', a woman struggles against her grown children, who want to place her in a nursing facility.

    Directors:Calvin Skaggs, Anthony Drazan
    Writer:Ronald Ribman

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  4. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 5 - Signs of Life
    8.0/10(40 votes)

    S10:E5

    The closing of a small shipbuilder in New England places stresses on the people involved.

    Director:John David Coles
    Writer:Mark Malone

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  5. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 2 - The Grapes of Wrath
    7.6/10(99 votes)

    S10:E2

    Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

    Directors:Kirk Browning, Frank Galati
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 6 - The End of a Sentence
    7.4/10(16 votes)

    S10:E6

    Sentenced to community service in a prison, an English professor teaches creative writing to an inmate.

    Director:David Jones
    Writer:Richard Nelson

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  7. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 3 - Three Hotels
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E3

    An American couple, Kenneth and Barbara Hoyle, reflect on their lives as players in international business, set in hotel rooms in Morocco, the Virgin Islands, and Oaxaca, Mexico.

    Director:Jon Robin Baitz
    Writer:Jon Robin Baitz

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  8. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 8 - Triple Play II
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E8

    Three more short films: in 'Peacemaker', a 1950s father helps his 11-year-old son overcome his fear of the A-bomb; in 'The Price of Life', the hours of your life are a currency you can buy or sell, trade or squander...; and in 'Astronomy', a mother and her young daughter search for an escape from the poverty in which they live.

    Directors:Stephen Tolkin, Susan Rogers, Jonathan Sanger
    Writers:Stephen Tolkin, Susan Rogers, Jonathan Sanger

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  9. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 9 - Hot Summer Winds
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E9

    A look at the domestic tension between an illiterate Japanese immigrant farmer and his educated wife in 1930s California.

    Director:Emiko Omori
    Writer:Emiko Omori

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  10. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 10 - The Plot Against Harry
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E10

    Deadpan, small-time Kosher Nostra mobster Harry Plotnick goes meshugga when he gets into the catering biz with his ex-brother-in-law.

    Director:Michael Roemer
    Writer:Michael Roemer

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  11. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 11 - Darrow
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E11

    American lawyer Clarence Darrow evolves from a corporate attorney to a champion of the underdog, defending labor leaders like Eugene V. Debs and later taking on high-profile cases like the Leopold & Loeb trial.

    Director:John David Coles
    Writers:Stephen Stept, William Schmidt

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  12. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 12 - The Hollow Boy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E12

    A lonely German boy, whose bigoted parents want him to constantly work in their bakery, finds solace in a close-knit, musically-gifted Jewish family in the apartment across the hall.

    Director:Noel Black
    Writer:Jay Neugeboren

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  13. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 13 - Misplaced
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E13

    The story of strong-minded Polish mother Halina Nowak, who desperately wants her talented son Jacek to have a life in the free world.

    Director:Louis Yansen
    Writers:Thomas De Wolfe, Louis Yansen

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  14. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 14 - A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe & Alfred Stieglitz
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E14

    Explores the complex, passionate, and often tumultuous relationship between the iconic artist and her mentor/husband, a pivotal figure in American modernism.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Julian Barry

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  15. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 15 - Longtime Companion
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E15

    During the summer of 1981, a group of friends in New York are completely unprepared for the onslaught of AIDS. What starts as a rumor about a mysterious 'gay cancer' soon turns into a major crisis as, one by one, some of the friends begin to fall ill, leaving the others to panic about who will be next. As death takes its toll, the lives of these friends are forever redefined by an unconditional display of love, hope and courage.

    Director:Norman René
    Writer:Craig Lucas

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  16. American Playhouse Season 10 Episode 16 - Metropolitan
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S10:E16

    A radical student is adopted by a group of young New Yorkers, serves as a catalyst to alter his and their lives. Gathering in a Manhattan apartment, the group of friends meet to discuss social mobility, Fourier's socialism and play bridge in their cocoon of upper-class society — until they're joined by a man with a critical view of their way of life.

    Director:Whit Stillman
    Writer:Whit Stillman

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Season 10 Ratings Summary

"O Pioneers!" is the best rated episode of "American Playhouse" season 10. It scored 8.8/10 based on 37 votes. Directed by Kirk Browning, Kevin Kuske and written by Darrah Cloud, it aired on 5/15/1991. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Into the Woods".