ESPN Films and Netflix are collaborating on a 10-part Michael Jordan documentary, The Last Dance, that'll premiere in 2019.
The Last Dance will chronicle Jordan’s come up as an NBA icon, leader of the Chicago Bulls, and legend in his own right. According to Deadline, the series will spend a fair amount of focus on the Bulls and basketball’s increased mainstream popularity in the 1990s, in addition to Jordan himself.
Jason Hehir, who directed the ESPN 30 for 30 episodes “The Fab Five” and “The ’85 Bears,” as well as the HBO documentary, Andre the Giant, is taking the helm for all 10 episodes here—which will definitely help keep this long-form documentary cohesive and of a piece. As for Jordan himself, he’s apparently fully participating in the production, as are other noteworthy players and figures from the era in question.
Perhaps most exciting is the fact that Hehir has access to over 500 hours of footage from the Chicago Bulls’ championship run in 1997-98, which has never seen the light of day. There will also be all-new commentary, presumably as voiceover and talking-head documentary style first-hand accounts, from dozens of other historical sports figures.
Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls got me into basketball, just like they did for millions of other children who comprised an entire generation. For us, the man was magic. He flew through the air and barreled through the court like a ferocious animal, but gracefully and elegantly. It was often unbelievable, what you were watching on screen.
The notion that we’ll get an extensive documentary about the era comprised of primary sources and original footage—some of which has never been seen—and get to travel back in time to an era long-gone, is unbelievable news. At worst, this will be a 10-hour-long 30 for 30 episode, which sounds fantastic. At best, we'll get something of the caliber of ESPN's Academy Award-winning O.J.: Made in America. It’s safe to say, we’ll be glued to our televisions either way, just as we were twenty years ago.
