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Documentary series · ESPN

The Last Dance

2020 sports documentary miniseries

Verification status: Imported automatically from public Wikidata and Wikipedia records; not yet reviewed by an editor. Fields we could not find are marked “Not verified”.

Research date: 2026-11-08

Synopsis

The Last Dance is a 2020 American sports television documentary miniseries co-produced by ESPN Films and Netflix. Directed by Jason Hehir, the series revolves around Michael Jordan's career, with particular focus on the 1997–98 season, his final season with the Chicago Bulls. The series features exclusive footage from a film crew with an all-access pass to the Bulls, and interviews of many NBA personalities, including Jordan's teammates (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr) and then-Bulls head coach Phil Jackson.

The Last Dance aired on ESPN from April 19 to May 17, 2020, in the United States, while its episodes were released on Netflix internationally the day after their American airings; beginning on May 23, two episodes were aired back-to-back on ESPN's corporate partner ABC. ESPN2 aired an alternate version of the series intended for family viewing, which removed most of the profanity heard in the episodes. The series became available on Netflix in the United States on July 19, 2020.

The series was met with critical acclaim, with praise for its directing and editing, and also for the timing of the release—during the initial weeks of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic when viewers were struggling to find entertainment. The Last Dance won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.

However, The Last Dance received heavy criticism from many of Jordan’s former Bulls teammates, who disputed the series's accuracy and focus on Jordan. Much of the hostility stemmed from the expectation that the documentary would center exclusively on the 1997–98 Bulls season rather than be an account of Jordan's life and career. The series's creators were also accused of portraying multiple key players of that era in an unfairly negative fashion while being excessively deferential to Jordan.

Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Key facts

Official title
The Last Dance
Alternative titles
Not verified
Original release
2020-04-19 – 2020-05-17
Country of production
United States
Language
English
Genres
documentary television program
Seasons
1
Episodes
10
Directors
Not verified
Producers
Not verified
Production company
Not verified
Official website
https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/2806434b-1deb-4c5c-aae0-04b1ab8eebf7/the-last-dance/
Official trailer
Not verified

Streaming

Listed service
ESPN
Original or licensed
Original — public records list ESPN as the original network or distributor (ESPN, Netflix).
Available now in UK
Not yet checked
Available now in Ireland
Not yet checked
Available now in US
Not yet checked
Past availability
Not verified

Episodes, events and timeline

Episode titles, summaries, running times, key events and a timeline have not been researched for this series yet. We'll add them only once they can be checked against reliable sources.

Sources