The Last Dance (miniseries)

The Last Dance
Promotional poster
GenreTelevision documentary[1]
Miniseries
Directed byJason Hehir[2]
ComposerThomas Caffey
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Producers
Cinematography
  • Thomas McCallum
  • Vincent Guglielmina
  • Michael Winik
  • Peter Winik
Editors
  • Chad Beck
  • Devin Concannon
  • Abhay Sofsky
  • Ben Sozanski
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time48–50 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 19 (2020-04-19) –
May 17, 2020 (2020-05-17)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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 US 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 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.[3][4] 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.[5]

  1. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (August 15, 2019). "ESPN offers a peek at their '30 for 30' documentary on Dennis Rodman: 'A much more complex and nuanced picture emerges'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Chavez, Chris (December 24, 2019). "ESPN's Latest Trailer for 'The Last Dance' Features Michael Jordan, Bulls Legends, President Obama". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 9, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "'The Last Dance' - The untold story of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls". May 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "ESPN's New Michael Jordan Documentary Is Exactly What We Need Right Now. Here's How They Made It". April 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "'The Last Dance' is over, and now Michael Jordan's ex-teammates are lining up to bash the documentary". Insider.com.