Missing the NBA? The silver lining of the global lockdown is that one of the most anticipated sports series of all-time has landed early. Basketball aficionado or not, you’ve heard of MJ and probably owned the sneakers, so here’s how to watch The Last Dance online and stream the latest episodes of the new Michael Jordan documentary wherever you are.
The Last Dance cheat sheet
The Last Dance follows Michael Jordan and the 1997/98 Chicago Bulls as they embark on the final NBA championship run of their dynasty. Two episodes of the 10-part miniseries air each Sunday until May 19 on ESPN starting at 9pm ET (6pm PT). Those without cable can easily tune in to ESPN via a great value Sling TV Orange package, which is now discounted to just $20 for the first month.
Originally scheduled to air in June to coincide with the 2020 NBA Finals, The Last Dance’s release date was brought forward to April due to the pandemic. It’s directed by veteran sports filmmaker Jason Hehir, who’s also behind the critically acclaimed Andre the Giant documentary, and charts the final championship run of the 90’s Chicago Bulls dynasty and its mercurial leader, Michael Jordan.
With six NBA titles to his name, Jordan isn’t just the best basketball player of all time – sorry not sorry, LeBron fans – but arguably the greatest athlete in the history of US sports. Only Tom Brady and Tiger Woods even get a seat at the same table.
We’ve got more information about this groundbreaking new series below, but before that we’ll tell you how to watch The Last Dance online and stream the new Michael Jordan documentary from anywhere in the world.
How to watch The Last Dance from anywhere in the world
Below, we explain all the country-by-country options to watch The Last Dance, and it’s all pretty straightforward until you find yourself abroad – at which point annoying geo-blocking restrictions will likely cut you off from your normal streaming provider. Admittedly, most people aren’t going anywhere anytime soon right now. But global travel will one day resume and, in an absolute worse case scenario, you may even be stuck abroad.
Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to geo-blocking. Downloading a VPN will allow you to stream The Last Dance no matter where you are. This simple bit of software changes your IP address so that you can access episodes live or on demand as they become available, just as if you were lying on the couch trying to teach the kids how to spell ‘self-isolation’.
While there are hundreds of VPNs to choose from, we always recommend ExpressVPN. As well as being fast, simple, and straightforward to install, it’s also compatible with a whole host of devices – Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, PlayStation, iOS and Android to name some of the main ones.
Plus, ExpressVPN’s flexible 30-day money back guarantee is difficult to argue with. Even better, you can purchase an annual plan for a 49% discount and 3 months extra FREE – a brilliant offer for an essential bit of software.
Once installed, select the location of your home country and simply click connect. You’ll then be able to easily watch The Last Dance from pretty much anywhere imaginable.
Is The Last Dance on Netflix?
For a great many people, this is a firm yes – but folk in the US are not among them.
Netflix is the global distribution partner for The Last Dance and new episodes of the miniseries are set to drop on the popular streaming service just after they air on the cable channel – around 3am ET or 12am PT every Monday in North America, or 8am BST in the United Kingdom, where it will likely find itself among the best Netflix UK shows sooner rather than later.
Netflix Australia and Netflix Canada will also be offering the series for streaming after it first airs on ESPN in the US, so read on and we’ll explain how to watch The Last Dance wherever you are.
As we say though, you won’t find The Last Dance on Netflix in the US for its first run.
How to watch The Last Dance in the US right now
In the US, ESPN is showing two episodes of The Last Dance every Sunday at 9pm and 10pm ET (6pm and 7pm PT) through May 19.
ESPN is a cable channel, of course, so anyone wanting to cut the cord and watch without the commitment should consider checking out Sling TV. It’s a great value streaming service that features ESPN as part of its Orange package – you can currently get your first month for just $20 as part of a limited time offer and the line-up also includes AMC, BBC America, and much more
Alternatively, you can get ESPN with a Hulu + Live TV bundle, which costs a hefty $54.99 a month – but can be tried for FREE for 7-days. And anyone who finds themselves outside of the US wanting to access streaming services like these – just as they would from home – need only grab some clever software like ExpressVPN to relocate back to the US.
To be clear, the US is almost unique in the fact that Netflix won’t show you the action. But at least there are plenty of other alternative ways to watch.
How to watch The Last Dance: stream the documentary online in the UK
Basketball fans and, more specifically, Netflix members in the UK have it good, as new episodes of The Last Dance will rain down to the popular streaming service every Monday after they air on ESPN in the States.
This means anyone with a Netflix subscription will be able to watch The Last Dance on a range of devices including Smart TVs, set-top boxes, mobile phones, tablets, PCs, laptops, Mac machines, consoles and much more.
If you’re not in the UK for whatever reason and can’t access your usual streaming service, remember you can always just grab a VPN and point yourself back to Blighty to watch Netflix just like you would from home.
Stream The Last Dance online: how to watch the Michael Jordan documentary in Australia
Luc Longley? Sorry Aussies, he doesn’t feature so much…but you do get a glimpse of Perth’s most famous export. And as in the UK, Netflix has the exclusive streaming rights for The Last Dance in Australia. This is great news for those who already subscribe to the service, but those who don’t will find that it’s great value from just $9.99 a month. New episodes will be released every Monday at around 6pm AEST.
If you happen to be going abroad and are worried that geo-blocking will stop you from watching The Last Dance and Netflix Australia like you normally would, don’t worry – just use a VPN to point yourself back Down Under.
How to watch The Last Dance: stream new episodes in Canada this week
Sensing a theme? Netflix Canada is home to The Last Dance and episodes will go live on the service each Monday.
Anyone who might find themselves outside of Canada and wants to watch shows like The Last Dance just as they would at home can do so by using a VPN.
What is The Last Dance?
Far from being just a collection of standard highlight reel stuff, The Last Dance features candid new interviews and previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. The 1997/98 NBA season is explored in such a way that draws attention to Jordan’s domineering personality just as much as it does his epic dunks. It was to be his last year with the Bulls and the culmination of a return odyssey that started back in 1995 when the legend decided to furlough his ambitions as a professional baseball player in the MLB.
To compile all of this, an NBA Entertainment film crew went behind-the-scenes with the Bulls throughout the campaign, having gained the approval of Jordan, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and head coach Phil Jackson.
And in addition to reminding us why we were desperate to ‘be like Mike’ in the 90s and would queue for hours for the latest pair of Air Jordan sneakers, the documentary also hones in on other key members of the Bulls team – fellow Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, as well as sharp-shooter Steve Kerr (now head coach of the Golden State Warriors).
