At Jordan Brand’s Space Jam anniversary event in October, the company saved its last surprise for the end of the night: a six-part docuseries about the making of the 1996 film. The announcement made it clear that Michael Jordan is back on camera, and this time the story is not about championships. The series, “Space Jam: Beyond the Jam”, premiered Sunday at 10 AM ET on Jordan Brand’s YouTube channel.
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The trailer, shared on X, shows Jordan reflecting on the project that put him alongside Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes.
“It was a big project,” Jordan said. “I didn’t realize how big the project was. But 30 years later, here I am sitting here talking to you. So it tells you a lot right there.”
His comment gets to the center of the series. When Space Jam was released in November 1996, it was a family comedy built around a basketball star and a cartoon cast, and few people expected it to become a decades-long cultural touchstone. Jordan’s reaction shows how his own view has changed, and it explains why Jordan Brand is revisiting the film at its 30th anniversary.
The series is part of a broader campaign. According to Nike’s newsroom, Jordan Brand is marking the anniversary with a footwear and apparel collection, a “Greatness Is Never Out of Reach” campaign and the mini-documentary, which promises untold stories from the film’s creation and new perspectives from Jordan and others who helped make it. The collection became available on November 5, and the classic “Space Jam” Air Jordan 11 returns in December.
Jordan Brand has announced a lineup that includes current stars. The trailer features Jayson Tatum, who has his own Jordan signature shoe, and DJ Khaled, a longtime Jordan Brand partner, among other celebrities. Their roles in the series have not been described in detail, so it is not clear how much screen time each will receive.
The series also serves another purpose. The Hollywood Reporter described it as the launch of Jordan TV, a new platform for Jordan Brand’s long-form storytelling, with the docuseries as its opening project. Nike’s release said the mini-doc “announces a new future” for the brand’s digital platform as it shifts toward premium content.
“The Last Dance”, an ESPN docuseries about the 1997-98 Bulls, was a major cultural event, and it showed how much audiences wanted to see Michael Jordan in a documentary setting. “Beyond the Jam” is much smaller, with six short episodes on YouTube, but it follows the same idea of using Jordan’s story to reach a new generation.
Jordan has appeared in other documentaries apart from The Last Dance, including Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1, which featured interviews with him. This new series is MJ’s latest celebration of his own legacy. It is not a sequel to “The Last Dance”.
It also reflects the way Jordan Brand has used film before. Its recent “Beyond” campaign, launched in 2023 with Uncommon Creative Studio, features Jordan alongside Tatum, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and others in a film about the next generation. This same group of athletes helps connect the 1996 Space Jam movie to current basketball culture.
The anniversary is relevant for fans as well. Space Jam became more than a movie because of its connection to the sneaker, specifically the Air Jordan 11 that Jordan wore in the film. The Air Jordan 11 “Space Jam” reissue, which is expected in December, is one of the most anticipated shoe releases of 2026.
For the NBA audience, the main attraction is hearing Jordan speak. He rarely gives extended interviews, and his comments in the trailer suggest he is willing to reflect on a project that he did not expect to last. That alone is a reason for fans to watch.