Buoyed by the success of “The Last Dance,” ESPN announced plans to move up several 30 For 30 documentaries.
ESPN announced Tuesday that it has moved up four editions of its 30 For 30 documentary series to air on the four Sundays following the conclusion of “The Last Dance” May 17. The lineup begins with the two-part, four-hour “Lance” on May 24 and 31, focused on the rise and fall of cyclist Lance Armstrong.
That will be followed by “Be Water” on June 7, focused on martial artist Bruce Lee. Rounding out the lineup is “Long Gone Summer” on June 14, about the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
ESPN has its annual ESPY Awards on the following Sunday (June 21), meaning that the network will have aired ten straight Sunday nights of original programming — dating back to the debut of “The Last Dance” on April 19 — during the quietest stretch of the sports calendar in memory.
Tuesday’s announcement comes amidst ESPN’s successful decision to move up “The Last Dance.” The series — about the final year of the Michael Jordan-led 1990s Chicago Bulls — is averaging 5.8 million viewers per episode during its first six installments, helping to keep the network afloat during a months-long stretch without live sports. According to Yahoo! reporter Daniel Roberts, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday that ESPN’s primetime audience in April (which also included the network’s most-watched NFL draft telecast in six years) was up 11% over last year.
