ESPN moves up Michael Jordan documentary series to start in April

By Adam Zielonka - The Washington Times - Tuesday, March 31, 2020

With all major sports on hold, ESPN has scrambled to fill its air time with content, including by running a marathon of “The Ocho” on a day it wasn’t originally planning to do so. Its latest move, though, has basketball fans excited.

ESPN moved up the premiere of its 10-part Michael Jordan documentary series, “The Last Dance,” to April 19 at 9 p.m.

The documentary follows Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls, the 1997-98 campaign. The network will air two episodes a week at 9 and 10 p.m. for five Sundays in a row.

The series was going to start sometime in June to coincide with the NBA Finals, but not only will the NBA Finals not be played on time due to the coronavirus pandemic, sports leagues are not expected to come back until mid-May at the earliest. ESPN made an adjustment and chose to air “The Last Dance” amid the empty sports calendar.

“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. “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.”

Fans reacted positively to the news:

You spoke, we listened.

“The Last Dance”

April 19 | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN

A 10-part documentary series chronicling Michael Jordan & the @chicagobulls’ quest for a sixth #NBA Championship

More: https://t.co/aVDRjHNKZi pic.twitter.com/w9vBzKq8ku
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 31, 2020