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‘The Last Dance,’ Documentary On Michael Jordan’s Last Title, Will Premiere Early Due To Coronavirus

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 14: NBA hall of famer and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan walks off the court during the NBA All-Star Game 2016 at the Air Canada Centre on February 14, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo: Getty)

The long-awaiting look at the Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s last championship with the Bulls is finally set for release on April 19.

ESPN and Netflix announced on Tuesday that the 10-part documentary series, The Last Dance, will run in the U.S. over five consecutive Sunday nights starting April 19 through May 17. There will be two-hour episodes on each of those nights, airing back-to-back at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern Time. The series will include never-before-seen footage from that season, one where the team chased its sixth championship in a span of eight years.

“April 19th can’t come fast enough. I CAN NOT WAIT!!” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted upon hearing news of the series’ long-awaited release. “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.”

ESPN was originally planning to release the documentary in June when this season’s NBA Finals were to be played. Without sports to air right now because of the global coronavirus pandemic, those plans were accelerated.

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“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.”

The documentary is nearly a quarter-century in the making. It was born in the fall of 1997 when Jordan, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and coach Phil Jackson allowed an NBA Entertainment film crew permission to follow the team all season.