ESPN Moves Up Michael Jordan 10-Part Documentary: Here’s How to Watch It

Claudia Miller
·4 min read

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Sports fans are finally getting a reprieve from decade-old replays and rewatched specials. ESPN announced this morning on “Good Morning America” that the network is moving up the release date of “The Last Dance,” a docuseries about the vaunted career of NBA icon Michael Jordan.

“As society navigates this time without live sports, viewers are still looking to the sports world to escape and enjoy a collective experience,” ESPN said in a statement.

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“We’ve heard the calls from fans asking us to move up the release date for this series, and we’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to accelerate the production schedule to do just that. This project celebrates one of the greatest players and dynasties ever, and we hope it can serve as a unifying entertainment experience to fill the role that sports often play in our lives, telling a story that will captivate everyone, not just sports fans,” ESPN said.

Originally scheduled to debut in June, the 10-part series will now begin on April 19.

How to Watch the Show

In the United States, ESPN will air the series, kicking it off on April 19. ESPN also offers livestreaming services with its WatchESPN application and through services such as Hulu With Live TV and YouTube TV. For non-U.S. residents, the series will be available internationally on Netflix.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press shared the reported broadcast schedule for the series on Twitter and also wrote that each week’s episodes “will be uploaded to Netflix at 3:01 a.m. Eastern on the Monday morning following the airings in the U.S.”

Who Will the Show Feature?

The series takes an in-depth look at Jordan’s career with the Chicago Bulls, focusing on his final championship season in 1997-98 with rare, never-before-seen footage.

Additionally, ESPN interviewed more than 100 people who were close to the team as well as those who experienced the championship run alongside Jordan.

Why Michael Jordan?

Many consider Jordan the best basketball player of all time. He played 15 seasons in the NBA and won six titles with Chicago, receiving the league MVP five times and the Finals MVP a record six times. In addition to winning the scoring title a record 10 times, the baller was also a master of defense and was named to the All-Defensive Team nine times.

During his 15 years as an NBA star, he made the All-Star roster 14 times; the one year he didn’t make it was a partial season after he took a hiatus playing minor league baseball. The Nike athlete debuted his first Air Jordan sneaker in his 1984–85 season, which he wore en route to Rookie of the Year honors. The brand has since delivered dozens of colorways and styles of the iconic silhouette, all recognizable from their signature Wings logo and branding.

According to Forbes, in the fiscal year that ended May 2019, Jordan made $145 million. Of that, $130 million derived from his eponymous Nike-owned shoe label, earning him four times more than the second highest-earning player — current NBA star LeBron James — who took in $32 million.

Who Is Going To Be Watching?

James has been vocal in his excitement about the new film. The NBA All-Star took to Twitter to share his excitement about the new release date saying “April 19th can’t come fast enough.” ESPN SportsCenter also posted a clip of James asking for an earlier start to the series with the caption: “Sometimes, all you gotta do is ask.”

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