‘The Last Dance’ documentary on Michael Jordan and Bulls not even fully produced yet

With the NBA on a prolonged hiatus due to the coronavirus, there’s a massive opening for basketball content.

Enter “The Last Dance”.

ESPN moved up the air date for the 10-part documentary on Michael Jordan and the Bulls from June to April/May. The series is a hit, with great music and plenty of fascinating stories.

Director Jason Hehir has discussed accelerating production. But I didn’t realize how drastic the schedule became.

Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times:

Contrary to the usual practice of having an entire series complete before it debuts, work on episode 9 was finished Friday and the final is scheduled to be done by May 10, as viewers watch episodes 7 and 8.

The original plan – airing episodes on off days during the NBA Finals – would have significantly reduced the cultural relevance of the documentary. There’d be so much focus on the Finals.

But because Hehir and his staff worked – and are working – so hard, “The Last Dance” gets the stage nearly to itself.