Michael Jordan and his dominant Chicago Bulls remain a huge draw more than two decades after their last NBA title. The final two episodes of the 10-part ESPN docuseries The Last Dance drew 5.89 million and 5.4 million viewers, respectively.
Sunday’s hourlong ninth episode watch the most-watched since Episode 3 on April 26 and leapt by 19.8% over the previous hour on May 10. The series finale at 10 p.m. Sunday was down by 8.3% from the 9 p.m. episode but topped the sixth, seventh and eighth hours in total viewers.
Airing during a pandemic-induced lack of live sports on TV, 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 Worldwide Leader said a complete ratings report on the docuseries about Jordan’s final season with the Bulls in 1997-98 will be released this week.
“We are thrilled with the response from fans throughout the run of the series,” said Connor Schell, EVP Content at ESPN. “The past five Sunday nights have brought fans together providing the type of communal viewing experience traditionally reserved for live sports.”
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Here are the ratings for each episode of The Last Dance, per ESPN and Nielsen: