“The Last Dance” arrived on April 19, 2020, into a country with no sports and nowhere to go. ESPN and Netflix co-produced the ten-part documentary, directed by Jason Hehir, and it became the thing a quarantined audience talked about for five straight weeks. It holds up. This is the rare event series that earned its hype twice.
Trailer, via ESPN.
Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls
The series follows Michael Jordan’s career, with its weight on the 1997-98 season — his last with the Chicago Bulls. A film crew had an all-access pass to the team that year, and the footage had never aired before. “The Last Dance” builds its ten episodes around that material, then widens out. More than 100 interviews fill the frame, including Jordan’s teammates Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr, and head coach Phil Jackson.
The Footage That Had Never Aired
That is the draw, and it delivers. Hehir cuts the 1997-98 season against Jordan’s earlier years, so a single episode can move between eras without losing the thread. The series drew praise for its directing and editing. It also drew a fight.
The Broadcast Schedule
| Date | Episode(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|
| April 19, 2020 | Premiere | ESPN |
| April 19 – May 17, 2020 | Weekly episodes | ESPN |
| Day after each U.S. airing | Same episodes | Netflix (international) |
| May 23, 2020 | Two back-to-back | ABC |
| July 19, 2020 | Full series | Netflix |
ESPN2 also ran an alternate version edited for family viewing, with most of the profanity removed.
Teammates Who Disputed the Record
Not everyone signed off. Many of Jordan’s former Bulls teammates criticized the series, disputing its accuracy and its focus. That objection is not noise, and it should not be waved away. A documentary built on one player’s authorized footage will tilt toward that player. The teammates who lived the same season saw a version of it that flattered the star and flattened them.
The Emmy and the Timing
“The Last Dance” won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. The timing helped. It landed in the first weeks of lockdown, when viewers had run out of anything to watch. That accident of the calendar made it bigger than a basketball series. It did not make it better.
What the Series Gets Right
The interviews carry it. Pippen, Rodman, Kerr and Jackson all sit for the camera, and the 1997-98 season becomes a study of a team at its end, not a highlight reel. The access is the reason. Ten episodes of footage nobody had seen before is a rare thing, and Hehir spends it well.
What It Leaves Out
The teammates’ complaints point at the real flaw. “The Last Dance” is authorized history, and authorized history has a ceiling. It is gripping and well-made, but it is his account first, everyone else’s second. Watch it as a great documentary about a great player, not as the last word on the 1997-98 Bulls.
Verdict
Nine point one out of 10. The footage is unmatched, the editing is sharp, and the timing made it a cultural event. The teammates who disputed it have a point worth keeping in mind. Both things are true.
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