With eight episodes released and two more episodes to come, ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary is still generating a great deal of discussion, both during and after the program airs. Anticipation is exceptionally high for the climax on Sunday, May 17 but, if fans of Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls are still looking for more content after the marathon, 10-hour documentary concludes, the good folks at Disney are providing another hour of programming.

On Thursday, it was announced that ABC would air a prime-time special called After the Dance with Stephen A. Smith: A SportsCenter Special, and the follow-up program will hit the air on Tuesday, May 19 from 8-9 pm ET. While the 10-episode series primarily airs on ESPN in the United States, ABC makes logical sense for this kind of expansion and, in theory, it could open things up to a new audience under the network umbrella.

As far as the programming is concerned, Smith is arguably ESPN’s most high-profile on-air talent and he brings an audience by himself. In addition, Los Angeles Lakers legend and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is scheduled to appear and, even beyond that, the announcement teases “surprise appearances by other NBA legends.”

Though it is undeniably strange to have this kind of coverage of a documentary event under normal circumstances, The Last Dance is already driving the news cycle in a way that has never occurred in the sporting landscape. ESPN has enjoyed success with Scott Van Pelt anchoring SportsCenter immediately following the weekly airings and, while that is still scheduled to happen after the ninth and tenth installments air, Tuesday evening will have an all-new look and a new network home for the series.

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Blanket fort, but make it grown-up.

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“When the priest said, ‘You may kiss the bride,’ and she turned and gave the groom her cheek.”

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If you’re bored while social distancing, this is a way to spice things up!

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Dr. Rick Bright, a leading government virologist, testified about the retaliation he faced after raising concerns over Trump’s support for hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment.

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“We’re going to have more cases. We’re going to have more deaths,” the governor said.

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We are stardust. We are golden. And we’ve got to stop sharing unhelpful memes.

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Andrea Circle Bear told her grandmother she had pneumonia when prison officials took her to a nearby hospital. She was put on a ventilator the next day and had to give birth two months early.

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First some good news: Legendary director George Miller is finally making another movie in the Mad Max franchise. Some news you may find even better: It will be about Furiosa, the one-armed badass who all but stole the last outing, the delightful Fury Road. Some less good news: It won’t star Charlize Theron.

Friday the 15th marks the five year anniversary of Fury Road, which revived the long dormant franchise to the tune of boffo box office, a whipping 11 Oscar nominations, and instant cult status. To celebrate, The New York Times ran an oral history of the next-level actioner, and on Thursday they confirmed with Miller — who’s been talking follow-ups ever since the movie’s release — that he’s indeed working on a Theron-less Furiosa project.

Why no Theron? Because it’s a prequel. As per NYT, the film will explore Furiosa’s history, with Miller searching for an actress in her 20s. He says he did consider using CGI tech to de-age his star, now 44, but that he decided recasting was a better route.

Just don’t expect it any time soon. Miller has another film to finish first, the drama Three Thousand Years of Longing, which stars Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba — which, alas, has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Still, be excited: Production designer Colin Gibson promises the next Mad Max movie, presumably sans Max Rockatansky, will be even bigger, with crazier cars.

(Via NYT)