“The Last Dance” maintained nearly all of it massive viewership in its second night on ESPN.
The 10-part documentary series, divided into 10 one-hour episodes, chronicles the Chicago Bulls’ path to the 1997-98 NBA championship.
Episodes three and four aired Sunday night, and they attracted 6.1 million and 5.7 million viewers, respectively, to ESPN and ESPN2.
The first two episodes, which were televised on April 19, drew 6.3 million and 5.8 million viewers.
According to ESPN, the first four episodes of “The Last Dance” all rate among the top six most-viewed shows for adults 18-34 since mid-March, when live sports were largely shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Viewership for “The Last Dance” in the Chicago area went up three percent on Sunday from the prior week, with an average of a 12.6 rating (percentage of all TV households watching a show). The next highest markets on Sunday were Raleigh-Durham (6.0 rating), Greensboro (5.3), Philadelphia (5.3) and Charlotte (5.1).
The Detroit market, home to the “Bad Boy” Pistons of the 1980s and 1990s who figured heavily in “The Last Dance” on Sunday, saw an increase of 37 percent from the prior week to a 3.1 rating.
“The Last Dance” also prompted four million interactions on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, topping all other programs for the second week in a row, according to the release.
The first episode of “The Last Dance” attracted the most viewers for a documentary in ESPN history.
The schedule for the remaining episodes, all on ESPN and ESPN2:
May 3 — Episode 5, 9 p.m. ET; Episode 6, 10 p.m. ET
May 10 — Episode 7, 9 p.m. ET; Episode 8, 10 p.m. ET
May 17 — Episode 9, 9 p.m. ET; Episode 10, 10 p.m. ET