What's the best non-Star Trek episode that Jonathan Frakes has directed?

Jonathan Frakes is a Star Trek icon. He's excelled both in front of the camera as William Riker, and behind the camera as a constant director for various Star Trek franchises. He's one of a kind and arguably as impactful as anyone in Star Trek history. Yet, his creative touch doesn't stop after yelling "Cut!" on set for Trek.

Frakes has made a name for himself as a director's director. He's sat behind numerous shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Gifted, NCIS: Los Angeles, and a personal favorite; Burn Notice. Yet, if you were to look through his catalog of shows, the one that stands out the most may be his turn on the Orville. His work on the season two episode "Sanctuary" is among the best episodes in sci-fi history, and Frakes was in part responsible for the success of the episode.

Frakes has directed a lot of great series, but for my money, few were as good as The Orville's "Sanctuary". The episode centers around the Moclan, a race of beings that jam the Vulcans' lack of personality and the Klingon's code of honor into one angry-looking package. They are a race that procreates within a single-sex, as they are made up almost exclusively of men.

The rates of women being born are so small that if one is born, they perform surgery on the infant to ensure it grows up a male. This is something that happened to one of the main characters, Bortus, as he was forced against his will to give his child the surgery, despite his objections.

The Sanctuary follows up the concept, where a group of Moclans have arrived on board The Orville and are hiding a baby Moclan girl from the rest of their people to protect her.

The episode dives into the concepts of culture, bigotry, duty, fidelity, and more, all while there's a backdrop of a developing war to deal with. It's a fantastic episode and one that we suggest you check out.