‘The Last Dance’ Getting Encore Airing Saturday Nights On ABC
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Turns out it wasn’t the last dance, after all.
Hot on the heels of the ratings bonanza that was The Last Dance on ESPN, ABC will broadcast the 10-part sports documentary chronicling the life and career of NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and his championship Chicago Bulls’ teams of the 1990s.
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ABC will begin the broadcasts on Saturday, May 23 with episodes 1 and 2.
The final two episodes of The Last Dance drew 5.89 million and 5.4 million viewers, respectively, on ESPN last Sunday. The original runs of all 10 episodes averaged 5.6 million same-day viewers, cementing The Last Dance as the most-watched documentary content ever on ESPN.
The series features never-before-seen footage from the 1997-1998 season as the Bulls pursued their sixth NBA championship in eight years. Directed by Jason Hehir — The Fab Five, The ’85 Bears, Andre the Giant — it was available on Netflix outside the U.S.
Exec producer Mike Tollin told Deadline’s Mike Fleming how the documentary came to be from a mythic treasure trove of archival footage.
The Last Dance was produced by Mandalay Sports Media, in association with NBA Entertainment and Jump 23.
The series will continue on ABC with two additional episodes each successive Saturday through June 20, all airing 8:00-10:02 p.m. EDT.
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