Beyond the Jam Space Jam Docuseries Coming to YouTube’s Jordan TV

This Sunday, Jordan TV will launch with a buzzy docuseries that takes fans behind the scenes of Space Jam, the live action-cartoon hybrid that debuted in theaters 30 years ago.

The docuseries, Beyond the Jam, features a star-studded cast of characters, from Michael Jordan himself (making a rare on-camera appearance) to stars like Teyana Taylor, J Balvin, and Jayson Tatum, as well as the late Eric Bauza, the voice of Bugs Bunny, who passed away unexpectedly last month.

The first episode debuts on the Jordan TV YouTube channel Sunday, with new episodes dropping each week. Warner Bros. worked with Jordan Brand on the docuseries.

“Space Jam really was more than a movie, it was a cultural movement and really changed the face of the entertainment industry, with an athlete like Michael coming in,” says Jordan Brand CMO Caitlin Sargent, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “The last thing you would have expected of an athlete like that would be going and filming a movie. So it was quite unconventional, and I think we always take that as inspiration. He’s our blueprint to say how can we do things a little bit differently?”

“What we decided was to leverage this moment and the story of Space Jam 30 years, really inspiring the next generation to find their own greatness,” Sargent added. “We wanted to use that as a moment to reposition this channel with the six-part mini doc, and the goal here was no doubt to to make sure that we were telling the untold stories of the making of Space Jam, but also the cultural impact it had.”

But it is Jordan TV that may be the more intriguing part of the launch. Jordan Brand, the Nike-owned athletics brand known for its iconic “Jumpman” logo, is rethinking content, betting that high-quality original programming, delivered directly to consumers via YouTube, is the future of how it engages with that audience.

“I think we know how important storytelling is with the next generation, and we know how important YouTube and that channel is,” Sargent says. “And so we are working on repositioning our Jordan YouTube channel to Jordan TV, which is really what we’re calling inside access. It’s a one-stop shop destination for never been seen storytelling around product stories and experiences, really allowing our community and our consumer to come inside the walls of the Jordan brand.

“This is our first step out to really reposition the channel, and what you’re going to see is an intersection of sport culture and sneaker culture,” she adds. “But the main piece is that we want to make sure that it does feel like it’s that inside access. I always say, when we’re doing our storytelling, our branded content is always really amazing. But what really our young consumer wants to see is the making of, what was it like to be on set as we’re shooting? What was it like bringing that brand experience to life? And so this will really feel like you’re getting that through several stories that we’ve got coming and that we’re really excited about.”

As The Hollywood Reporter reported in an August cover story, brands are becoming more ambitious in their storytelling, looking beyond traditional commercials and campaigns to become more full-funnel storytellers, funding original content, and bringing consumers inside their worlds.

That’s true for Nike, which was featured in the story, but also for Jordan Brand. Sargent describes the move as being an imperative.

“We know our consumer has changed, and what creates an emotional connection with youth today is different than what it what it has been over the last 40 years,” she says. “So what we’re doing right now is trying to make sure that we’re shifting into, less branded content. If it feels like an ad, smells like an ad, it starts to fall a bit flat. What we really want to do is shift into a space where we’re creating core memories with our young consumer through the products, through the stories, and through the experiences that we’re putting forth.”

And that starts with Space Jam.

You can watch the trailer for Beyond the Jam, below.