List of Halt and Catch Fire episodes
Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:03:56 PM Wikipedia source
Halt and Catch Fire is an American period drama television series created by Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers, that aired on AMC from June 1, 2014, to October 14, 2017. The series depicts a fictionalized insider's view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and later the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. The series' first two seasons are set in the Silicon Prairie of Dallas–Fort Worth, while the third and fourth seasons are set in Silicon Valley. The show's title refers to computer assembly language instruction HCF, whose execution would cause the computer's central processing unit to stop working (and facetiously catch fire). During the course of the series, 40 episodes of Halt and Catch Fire aired over four seasons, between June 1, 2014, and October 14, 2017.
Tables
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 10 | June 1, 2014 (2014-06-01) | August 3, 2014 (2014-08-03) | |
| 2 | 10 | May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31) | August 2, 2015 (2015-08-02) | |
| 3 | 10 | August 21, 2016 (2016-08-21) | October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11) | |
| 4 | 10 | August 19, 2017 (2017-08-19) | October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14) | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U . viewers (millions) | |
| 1 | 1 | "I/O" | Juan José Campanella | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | June 1, 2014 (2014-06-01) | 1 | |
| In 1983, Joe MacMillan, a key player in the debut of the IBM Personal Computer, questions college students about their knowledge of several computing categories; one of the students, Cameron Howe, challenges him. Joe is hired as a sales executive at Cardiff Electric, a Dallas-based mainframe software company, by vice president John Bosworth. Joe ca | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "FUD" | Juan José Campanella | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08) | 0 | |
| Joe reveals his plans for Cardiff Electric's new PC compatible by building it with twice the speed at half the cost of the original; Gordon argues that the idea is infeasible while Cameron dismisses it as boring. Joe is then introduced as "Senior Product Manager" of Cardiff Electric's new PC division. Joe sets up a "clean room" office so Cameron ca | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "High Plains Hardware" | Karyn Kusama | Jason Cahill | June 15, 2014 (2014-06-15) | 0 | |
| After IBM's poaching of Cardiff Electric, Gordon is forced to lay off several employees. Joe tells the remaining engineers that the company will have a portable PC weighing less than 15 pounds by the end of the year. After Joe attempts to secure venture capital from his East Coast contacts, Nathan tells him that Bosworth will handle the project's f | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Close to the Metal" | Johan Renck | Jonathan Lisco | June 22, 2014 (2014-06-22) | 0 | |
| Just as Cameron nears completion of the BIOS code for the new PC, disaster strikes, and she loses all her data. Further complicating the situation, Joe has brought in a reporter from a major business periodical, and he witnesses the chaos with delight. Bosworth is summoned to a meeting by Nathan, who believes that Bosworth might be losing control o | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Adventure" | Ed Bianchi | Dahvi Waller | June 29, 2014 (2014-06-29) | 0 | |
| Joe hires a new software development team. To meet one of the design goals for the new PC, Gordon realizes that a liquid crystal display would be needed; Gordon reveals that his father in-law, Gary Emerson, has connections with Japanese electronics manufacturer Kuzoku and could procure the displays at a discount. Cameron clashes with Joe over his r | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Landfall" | Larysa Kondracki | Zack Whedon | July 6, 2014 (2014-07-06) | 0 | |
| The prototype computer is finally finished, and boots up successfully. Cameron proposes changes to the operating system's user interface to make it more user-friendly. Both Gordon and Joe reject her idea, stating that any radical changes to the computer would be more difficult to sell. Hoping to ease the tension between them, Gordon invites Joe ove | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Giant" | Jon Amiel | Jamie Pachino | July 13, 2014 (2014-07-13) | 0 | |
| Bosworth learns that Cardiff Electric is on the verge of bankruptcy. During a QA meeting, the engineers complain that Cameron's OS has negatively impacted the computer's performance. Joe introduces renowned industrial designer Simon Church and his designs for the Cardiff PC case; Joe also reveals the PC's name, the “Contrail”. Gordon voices his dis | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The 214s" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Dahvi Waller & Zack Whedon | July 20, 2014 (2014-07-20) | 0 | |
| As Cardiff Electric makes preparations for COMDEX, the FBI raids the office and arrests Bosworth for embezzlement. To prevent the Giant prototype from being seized as evidence, Gordon hastily disassembles the computer and later smuggles its components out of the office. At TI, Donna learns that Hunt had abruptly resigned. After Gordon accuses Joe o | |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Up Helly Aa" | Terry McDonough | Jason Cahill | July 27, 2014 (2014-07-27) | 0 | |
| When the Cardiff Electric team arrives in Las Vegas, they learn that their reservations had been cancelled due to the company's corporate assets being frozen. After the team manages to secure a suite and a booth by unorthodox means, Donna and Gordon discover that the Giant is malfunctioning; however, they get it repaired after Joe distracts the att | |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "1984" | Juan José Campanella | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | August 3, 2014 (2014-08-03) | 0 | |
| After COMDEX, Joe and Gordon manage to convince Nathan into giving them operational control of the company as well as minority ownership. Donna severs her ties with TI after she deliberately tanks her performance review. While testing the first production run of Giants, the engineers discover a defective test unit. Now fixated on the Macintosh, Joe | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U . viewers (millions) | |
| 11 | 1 | "SETI" | Juan José Campanella | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31) | 0 | |
| More than a year has passed since the launch of the Giant. Joe had reconnected with his old college classmate Sara Wheeler and he is now living with her in Austin. Cardiff Electric is liquidated after Nathan sells the company off to an overseas corporation. Gordon, as the outgoing company president, receives a dividend payment of over $800,000. Joe | |||||||
| 12 | 2 | "New Coke" | Phil Abraham | Jonathan Lisco | June 7, 2015 (2015-06-07) | 0 | |
| Joe and Sara meet with Jacob Wheeler, Sara's father and CEO of Westgroup Energy. Noting Joe's troubled work history, Jacob offers him a job with Westgroup. Joe initially declines, but he later accepts the offer; after arriving at Westgroup's headquarters, Joe discovers that he was given a low-level data entry job. Donna shows Cameron her new dedica | |||||||
| 13 | 3 | "The Way In" | Jeff Freilich | Jason Cahill | June 14, 2015 (2015-06-14) | 0 | |
| Gordon writes a program called Sonaris to map the size of Mutiny's network. Bosworth sees his ex-wife Ginny for the first time since his release from prison, and she tells him not to come to their son James' rehearsal dinner; against Ginny's wishes, Bosworth shows up in an attempt to reconcile with James. At Mutiny, Donna notes that Community is ga | |||||||
| 14 | 4 | "Play with Friends" | Kimberly Peirce | Dahvi Waller | June 21, 2015 (2015-06-21) | 0 | |
| Joe pitches an idea to a Westgroup executive, configuring the company's mainframe for time-sharing during off-hours; however, Joe's proposal is dismissed. At Mutiny, Cameron and Donna tell the coders that due to the Sonaris incident, the company is operating at a deficit and cannot afford to pay their salaries; however, many of them choose to stay | |||||||
| 15 | 5 | "Extract and Defend" | Michael Morris | Zack Whedon | June 28, 2015 (2015-06-28) | 0 | |
| When Donna asks Gordon about Mutiny's new network partner, he reveals that Mutiny has been leasing their improved network infrastructure from Joe. During a doctor's visit, Gordon learns that he has toxic encephalopathy due to his exposure to lead solder as well as his usage of cocaine during the development of the Giant. The diagnosis leaves him in | |||||||
| 16 | 6 | "10Broad36" | Larysa Kondracki | Jamie Pachino | July 5, 2015 (2015-07-05) | 0 | |
| Jacob tells Joe that he revised Mutiny's network rental contract, raising their hourly rate from $3 to $5. Gordon takes his daughters to California to see his brother Henry, and Gordon reveals his condition to Henry; Gordon also reconnects with Henry's ex-girlfriend Jules, which escalates to an affair. When Joe goes to Mutiny to discuss the new ter | |||||||
| 17 | 7 | "Working for the Clampdown" | Karyn Kusama | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | July 12, 2015 (2015-07-12) | 0 | |
| Gordon finally reveals his condition to Donna; however, he downplays the severity of his disease. When Joe comes by Mutiny with Westgroup's formal acquisition offer, Cameron rallies the coders against "selling out", and she tears up the contract. Gordon recruits Ed and Larry, two of his former Cardiff colleagues, for his new venture, direct selling | |||||||
| 18 | 8 | "Limbo" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Zack Whedon | July 19, 2015 (2015-07-19) | 0 | |
| Donna chides Cameron for her decision to not sell Mutiny to Westgroup. Joe and Sara reveal to Jacob that they got married, and Joe resigns from Westgroup. As Mutiny makes preparations for a customer appreciation party, Cameron and Tom finish up their latest game, Extract and Defend. Ed and Larry walk out on Gordon's venture when they question his m | |||||||
| 19 | 9 | "Kali" | Craig Zisk | Jason Cahill | July 26, 2015 (2015-07-26) | 0 | |
| Donna and Cameron discuss their legal options against Westgroup, and Cameron decides to sell Extract and Defend to sustain Mutiny. Tom is upset that Cameron made this decision without consulting him, and the two breakup as a result. After Joe bails Gordon out of jail, Gordon investigates the computer company that he believed copied his idea; howeve | |||||||
| 20 | 10 | "Heaven Is a Place" | Phil Abraham | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | August 2, 2015 (2015-08-02) | 0 | |
| In the fallout of the WestNet fiasco, Jacob is ousted as CEO of Westgroup, and Sara files for divorce from Joe. Desiring independence, Cameron finds a listing for a used IBM 3033 mainframe in California that Mutiny could use to host their network. Donna finds out about Gordon's affair, which causes their elder daughter Joanie to run away. Feeling r | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U . viewers (millions) | |
| 21 | 1 | "Valley of the Heart's Delight" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | August 21, 2016 (2016-08-21) | 0 | |
| Six months after Mutiny moved to California, Gordon and Donna finally get their mainframe operational, and Cameron announces that the company has surpassed 100,000 subscribers. After reading a scathing article about Mutiny, Donna realizes that the company needs something new in order to stay relevant in Silicon Valley. Ryan Ray, a new coder at Muti | |||||||
| 22 | 2 | "One Way or Another" | Kimberly Peirce | Michael Saltzman | August 23, 2016 (2016-08-23) | 0 | |
| Donna and Cameron attempt to secure venture capital to expand Mutiny for its new online trading platform, Mutiny Exchange. Gordon decides to take Ryan under his wing, seeing a kinship with him; however, Ryan tries to seek out Joe. After a disastrous meeting with a sexist venture capitalist, Donna and Cameron meet with Diane Gould, who Donna had pre | |||||||
| 23 | 3 | "Flipping the Switch" | Jeff Freilich | Lisa Albert | August 30, 2016 (2016-08-30) | 0 | |
| Cameron unsuccessfully tries to persuade Ryan against working with Joe. Marital tensions between Donna and Gordon flare up during a project meeting, leading to a heated argument on Mutiny's office floor. Diane accompanies Bosworth to Swap Meet to tender their buyout offer. Mutiny had initially planned to acquire Swap Meet for $600,000; after seeing | |||||||
| 24 | 4 | "Rules of Honorable Play" | Jake Paltrow | Alison Tatlock | September 6, 2016 (2016-09-06) | 0 | |
| At Mutiny, Cameron shows stubbornness towards Doug and Craig, the former owners of Swap Meet, in adapting Mutiny's code to make it compatible with Swap Meet's; Diane insists to Donna that Cameron and Doug need to fix their untenable relationship lest the partnership collapses. At Joe's apartment, he and Ryan brainstorm ideas for MacMillan Utility's | |||||||
| 25 | 5 | "Yerba Buena" | Andrew McCarthy | Mark Lafferty | September 13, 2016 (2016-09-13) | 0 | |
| At Mutiny, the coders discover that users want a way to make cash transactions on Swap Meet; Doug and Craig had been working on a solution to accept credit card payments, and Donna implores Cameron to implement it, but she is reluctant to do so. At Joe's apartment, while studying the ARPANET map, Joe sees potential in NSFNET; however, Ryan sees it | |||||||
| 26 | 6 | "And She Was" | Michael Morris | Angelina Burnett | September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20) | 0 | |
| At MacMillan Utility, Joe and Ryan begin setting up their regional network. At Mutiny, Cameron reveals that she just fired Doug and Craig; Diane then tells Cameron and Donna that Mutiny should consider going public after receiving an acquisition offer from CompuServe. Sensing tension between them, Diane tells Cameron and Donna to think about it ove | |||||||
| 27 | 7 | "The Threshold" | Karyn Kusama | Michael Saltzman | September 27, 2016 (2016-09-27) | 0 | |
| In light of his confession, Joe is ousted as CEO of MacMillan Utility, which is renamed Citadel Utility. Joe tells Ryan that the NSFNET project is on hold, and that he will end up getting fired as well. Gordon's lawyer informs him of Joe's confession; Gordon later learns about Joe’s NSFNET project after confronting him in his apartment. Donna and C | |||||||
| 28 | 8 | "You Are Not Safe" | Reed Morano | Lisa Albert & Alison Tatlock | October 4, 2016 (2016-10-04) | 0 | |
| Ryan is being investigated by the FBI for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Donna, Diane, and Bosworth figure out how to go forward on Mutiny’s IPO without Cameron. Because of Ryan's actions, the future of the NSFNET regional network is put into jeopardy. Joe turns to Cameron for help in tracking Ryan since he went off the grid, and Joe i | |||||||
| 29 | 9 | "NIM" | Christopher Cantwell | Mark Lafferty | October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11) | 0 | |
| Four years have passed since Mutiny’s failed IPO and Ryan's suicide. Mutiny has folded, Donna and Gordon have divorced, Gordon has completed the work on the NSFNET regional network, and Donna is now a senior partner at Diane’s venture capital firm. Donna contacts Joe, who is now an independent consultant, stating that she has a proposition for Came | |||||||
| 30 | 10 | "NeXT" | Phil Abraham | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11) | 0 | |
| Donna sets up a meeting in the former Mutiny offices. She, Gordon, Joe, Cameron, and Tom discuss the potential of the World Wide Web, but each have conflicting ideas and concerns; during the discussion, Joe reveals that he met Tim Berners-Lee at a conference in Paris, receiving the hypertext toolkit for the World Wide Web. The group leaves at a sta | |||||||
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U . viewers (millions) | |
| 31 | 1 | "So It Goes" | Juan José Campanella | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | August 19, 2017 (2017-08-19) | 0 | |
| In the three years since their meeting about the World Wide Web, Joe and Gordon have formed CalNect, a new internet service provider, in the former Mutiny offices. Joe expresses his frustration over Cameron’s inability to get their web browser, Loadstar, completed after Gordon shows him Mosaic, a new browser gaining in popularity. While doing a foc | |||||||
| 32 | 2 | "Signal to Noise" | Meera Menon | Mark Lafferty | August 19, 2017 (2017-08-19) | 0 | |
| Joe and Cameron reconcile over the events, both professional and personal, of the past three years. Donna sets up an incubator for Rover and appoints her assistant Tanya Reese to oversee it. Gordon finds out that his younger daughter Haley is skipping school; as he brings her to his office, CalNect is facing a crisis over bandwidth due to their new | |||||||
| 33 | 3 | "Miscellaneous" | Jeff Freilich | Zack Whedon | August 26, 2017 (2017-08-26) | 0 | |
| Faced with mounting pressure from both AOL and MCI, Gordon decides to sell CalNect. Joe sees Haley’s work, and he wants to buy Haley’s Comet to develop it further; however, Haley refuses to sell, insisting that she wants to work on it herself. Joe and Gordon argue over letting Haley develop the website, which Joe renames as simply "Comet", with Gor | |||||||
| 34 | 4 | "Tonya and Nancy" | Stacie Passon | Alison Tatlock | September 9, 2017 (2017-09-09) | 0 | |
| At Comet, Joe and Gordon review Rover, and both agree that the website is substandard. Cameron tells Joe that Comet needs a more sophisticated algorithm to index websites as the World Wide Web continues to grow to possibly millions of websites. At AGGEK, Tanya and Bosworth argue with Donna over launching Rover too early in response to Comet. To ass | |||||||
| 35 | 5 | "Nowhere Man" | So Yong Kim | Angelina Burnett | September 16, 2017 (2017-09-16) | 0 | |
| Donna questions Cecil, Rover's lead programmer, over the new search algorithm. Gordon and Katie start a relationship. At Comet, Joe worries about Rover’s newfound funding. Donna freezes additional hires for engineers at Rover until Cecil can provide specifications for the algorithm for copyright purposes. Tom comes by Cameron’s trailer unexpectedly | |||||||
| 36 | 6 | "A Connection is Made" | Michael Morris | Julia Cho | September 23, 2017 (2017-09-23) | 0 | |
| Donna fires Cecil from Rover so she can have an outside programmer reverse engineer Cameron’s algorithm. As Gordon, Joe, Cameron, and Katie celebrate Haley’s birthday, Cameron tells Gordon that she wants to get out of tech. Haley later sends Cameron a link to a fansite dedicated to her work, and it renews her confidence. Cameron later meets with Al | |||||||
| 37 | 7 | "Who Needs a Guy" | Tricia Brock | Lisa Albert | September 30, 2017 (2017-09-30) | 0 | |
| Cameron begins working on a new game for Alexa, which precludes any quality time with Joe. Bosworth and Diane get married at Palo Alto City Hall. In a conversation with Gordon, Donna tells him that Rover is outperforming Comet in terms of web traffic; however, she believes that user retention is the key to their respective websites' long-term succe | |||||||
| 38 | 8 | "Goodwill" | Christopher Cantwell | Zack Whedon | October 7, 2017 (2017-10-07) | 0 | |
| Donna, Joanie and Haley go to Gordon’s house to pack up his belongings, and Joe and Cameron show up later to help. While cleaning out Joanie’s room, Donna discovers a stack of unsent college applications and demands an explanation, but Joanie refuses to talk about it. Cameron offers to talk to Joanie and has limited success. Haley asks Donna about | |||||||
| 39 | 9 | "Search" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Mark Lafferty | October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14) | 0 | |
| At Comet, Joe prepares for the site's relaunch, planning to integrate Comet into Netscape and hoping to become its default search engine. Diane stops by Donna's house, telling Donna she must make the decision of whether or not she wants the managing partner position. Haley lashes out at Joe for profiting from Comet. Donna is reluctant to become the | |||||||
| 40 | 10 | "Ten of Swords" | Karyn Kusama | Christopher Cantwell & Christopher C. Rogers | October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14) | 0 | |
| Realizing Comet cannot compete with Yahoo, Joe shuts down the company. Donna revamps AGGEK and renames the VC firm Symphonic Ventures. After an unsuccessful overseas business trip, Cameron ends her professional relationship with Alexa. She begins to pack up her Airstream, telling Bosworth she's leaving California. She stops at Joe's apartment to dr | |||||||