ESPN is constantly adding new programming to ESPN+ every month. With live sporting events, debate-style roundtables, and highlight-driven presentations, ESPN and its family of networks are still the best destinations for round-the-clock sports coverage. With multiple networks and a streaming service, ESPN continues to make entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking content about every major sport. From 30 for 30 documentaries like Four Falls of Buffalo to video podcasts like DC & RC, ESPN+’s programming will keep fans entertained for hours.
Whether you love the thrills of a live sporting event or enjoy watching expert analysts break down each game, ESPN+ is the perfect service for sports fans. Scrolling through the extensive ESPN+ library can be daunting, so we compiled a list of some of the best shows to watch on the ESPN+ streaming service.
Looking for more shows to watch? We have guides to the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Disney+, and the best shows on Amazon Prime Video.
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Sue's Places2024
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DC & RC2021
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Sue's Places (2024)
Peyton Manning is the architect of The Places Universe, a talk series hosted by former athletes exploring the history of a sport. Series within The Places Universe include Eli’s Places with Eli Manning for football, P.K.’s Places with P.K. Subban for hockey, and McEnroe’s Places with John McEnroe for tennis. The newest addition to The Places Universe is Sue’s Places with Sue Bird, a four-time WNBA and two-time NCAA Champion.
In Sue’s Places, Bird explains the rich traditions in men’s and women’s college basketball. In the first episode, Bird returned to her alma mater, the University of Connecticut, for a conversation with her legendary coach, Geno Auriemma. Future episodes of Sue’s Places will feature Jason Sudeikis examining Kansas basketball, Caitlin Clark dissecting her three-point shot, and Mike Krzyzewski breaking down the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina.
DC & RC (2021)
Daniel Cormier is a former UFC two-division champion. Ryan Clark is a former NFL safety and Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Together, they host DC & RC, a talk show specializing in UFC coverage. As a former fighter and current commentator, Cormier provides expert analysis of each fight and brings firsthand experience to each UFC topic.
Clark is a UFC superfan who loves following and watching the sport. Together, the duo debate news within the MMA world and predict the winners of future UFC events. Cormier and Clark are Louisiana natives, so the show feels like two friends hanging out and talking about the sport they love.
Four Falls of Buffalo (2015)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more passionate, loyal, and enthusiastic NFL fan base than that of the Buffalo Bills. In the early 1990s, the Bills rose to prominence as one of the best teams in the NFL. After a tough 1989 season, the Bills made the Super Bowl the following year. This began a remarkable streak of AFC Championship victories and a record-breaking four straight Super Bowl appearances.
However, luck was not on the Bills’ side, as they lost all four. Four Falls of Buffalo explores the rise of the Buffalo Bills and how they managed to cope with heartbreak year after year. Former players interviewed for the project include Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, and Scott Norwood.
The Pat McAfee Show (2017)
Pat McAfee is a lightning rod in the world of sports. The former NFL punter-turned-media personality is on a historic rise to superstardom, and one of his most popular ventures is The Pat McAfee Show. The weekly sports radio show airs from noon to 3 p.m. ET every Monday through Friday on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN’s YouTube Channel. The first two hours are available on all three, but only ESPN+ simulcasts all three hours.
Based in Indianapolis, McAfee uses his NFL experience and comedic background to put a unique and entertaining spin on the world of sports. Surrounded by a cast of eccentric personalities, including A.J. Hawk and Ty Schmit, McAfee’s effortless show plays like a conversation sports fans would have at a bar over a beer. Because of his popularity and brand recognition, McAfee gets some of the best interviews from some of the biggest names in sports, including Aaron Rodgers and Nick Saban.
The Luckiest Guy in the World (2023)
Bill Walton is one of the zaniest and most colorful personalities in basketball. To say Walton is unique would be an understatement. Walton is the only basketball analyst who will explain the importance of the pick and roll, the legacy of The Grateful Dead, and his experiences with marijuana in the same broadcast. Walton’s free-spirited personality and Hall of Fame career became the subject of The Luckiest Guy in the World, a 30 for 30 docuseries from Steve James, the award-winning documentarian behind Hoop Dreams and Life Itself.
At nearly seven feet tall, Walton became one of basketball’s most feared players, dominating at UCLA under the legendary John Wooden before playing in the NBA for 14 years, where he would win the MVP and two NBA Championships. Yet, Walton is much more than a basketball player, as the tie-dye-wearing big man remained true to himself on and off the court.
TrueSouth (2018)
Southern food and culture come to the forefront in TrueSouth. Hosted by four-time James Beard Award winner John T. Edge and executive produced by two-time New York Times bestselling author and ESPN senior writer Wright Thompson, TrueSouth focuses on two food stories from one place to explore Southern identities and beliefs.
Season 6’s locations include Hot Springs, Arkansas; The Black Belt, Alabama; St. Augustine, Florida; and Dublin, Georgia. They say the best way to experience a culture is through food, and Edge showcases local cuisines and restaurants to better understand the people and their customs.
McEnroe’s Places (2023)
John McEnroe is one of the greatest tennis players to ever pick up a racket. From his fiery tirades to his spectacular skill, McEnroe was a lightning rod for the sport. Now, McEnroe takes his unique personality to television in McEnroe’s Places, an expansion of Peyton Manning’s Places franchise.
In the series, McEnroe explores the history of tennis and follows its evolution from a backyard game to a global sport. McEnroe interviews some of the game’s best and most popular current and former players, including Taylor Fritz, Rod Laver, Maria Sharapova, Chris Evert, Patrick McEnroe, and Novak Djokovic.
Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball (2023)
The origins of SEC basketball are explored through the seven-part series Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball. On the men’s side, Southern Hoops chronicles the history of SEC basketball, including Vanderbilt participating in the first game in 1893. Other seminal moments include the 1948 Kentucky team winning the SEC’s first national title under Adolph Rupp.
For the women’s game, the series depicts legendary coaches, such as Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who turned their programs into national powers. Southern Hoops also shines a light on the civil rights movement and its impact on basketball in the SEC.
Deion's Double Play (2019)
There’s an argument to be made that the greatest athlete to ever play professional sports is Deion Sanders. Most professional athletes focus on playing one sport. Sanders, however, was so talented that he played two: football and baseball. Sanders playing in the NFL and MLB is a remarkable feat, but the fact that he found success in both sports is truly unfathomable.
Deion’s Double Play chronicles Sanders’ attempt in 1992 to play two games for the Atlanta Braves and one game for the Atlanta Falcons within 24 hours. Even though the events were in different cities located 1,000 miles apart, if one athlete could pull off the impossible, it was Deion.
Once Upon A Time In Anaheim (2023)
Usually, sports movies are based on real teams or players. In the case of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, the movie inspired the team. In 1992, a ragtag group of peewee hockey players rallied under coach Gordon Bombay to win the Minnesota State Championship in The Mighty Ducks. The film became a surprise hit at the box office, earning $50 million against a $14 million budget. One year later, Disney CEO Michael Eisner, inspired by the underdog message of the film, brought the Mighty Ducks to life by bringing pro hockey to Anaheim.
Without players or coaches, Eisner assembled a hockey franchise within one year, and they became the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. At first, the team struggled, becoming one of the worst teams in the NHL. Once Upon A Time In Anaheim chronicles the early days of the Mighty Ducks and their journey from the laughing stock of the league to Stanley Cup contenders.
144 (2021)
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many professional sports leagues, including the WNBA. The WNBA typically plays a spring to early fall schedule, but COVID-19 jeopardized the league as canceling the season became a legitimate option. However, the players, coaches, and WNBA management agreed to play in a bubble at IMG Academy, a single site where every game would be played in a shortened season.
144 is the story of how the bubble came to be as 144 players across 12 teams played 147 games from July to October 2020. The documentary also depicts how the league handled social justice and activism among players at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Tournament: A History of ACC Men's Basketball (2022)
The story of how one of the premier college basketball tournaments came to be is the subject of The Tournament: A History of ACC Men’s Basketball. The 10-part series covers different eras of the conference, starting with how the original tournament in 1954. At that time, the NCAA Tournament awarded just one berth per conference. There were no at-large bids like there are in today’s NCAA tournament.
The ACC revolutionized college basketball by becoming the only league to determine which team would win the conference with a tournament to crown a champion. From Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski to Ralph Sampson and Christian Laettner, The Tournament highlights some of the most influential coaches and players in the game’s history. It’s a must-watch for any college basketball fan.
SportsCenter (1979)
If you’ve ever watched ESPN, the jingle DaDaDa, DaDaDa is probably in your mind. After 40-plus years, SportsCenter is still ESPN’s flagship program. The sporting news program changed the way the media covers sports.
With highlight clips, news packages, in-depth analysis, and interviews, SportsCenter provides up-to-the-minute information on every major sport. What started as a show that would air once a day has progressed to over 12 live shows daily. The series continues to serve as a go-to program for many sports fans looking to stay up-to-date on their favorite teams and leagues.
Player 54: Chasing the XFL Dream (2023)
The XFL has its version of the NFL’s Hard Knocks with Player 54: Chasing the XFL Dream. The docuseries focuses on the creation of the league under new ownership from Dany Garcia (Black Adam) and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Red Notice). After the league filed for bankruptcy in April 2020, Garcia and Johnson purchased the league in August 2020, and the league began its inaugural season in February 2023.
The 54 symbolizes the odd-man out of an NFL roster, which only carries 53 players. The series focuses on the dreamers of the XFL, the castoff football players and coaches looking to continue their careers in the sport they love.
On The Clock (2023)
Arguably the most important position in professional sports is quarterback. A good quarterback can positively set an NFL franchise up for the next decade, but a bad quarterback can set a team back for years. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, decided to evaluate and mentor the top four prospects at the position ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The result became On The Clock, a four-part original series that chronicles the journey of Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson, from the 2022 college football season to the NFL Draft. The Manning brothers provide an insightful look into the pressures of being a top quarterback and what it takes to succeed at the position.
Fate of a Sport (2022)
Lacrosse is typically viewed as a niche sport that can never become as popular as football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, especially at the professional level. There was a running joke that pro lacrosse players needed 9-to-5 jobs during the week to support themselves due to lacrosse’s low salaries. In 2020, one man, Paul Rabil, one of the greatest pro players to ever pick up a stick, changed the trajectory of the sport.
Fate of a Sport depicts Rabil’s pursuit to create his own professional lacrosse league, which would become the Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL). Imagine Michael Jordan decided to create his basketball league while on the Chicago Bulls or Derek Jeter attempted to start another baseball league as a member of the New York Yankees. That’s essentially what Rabil tried to do and succeeded. Fate of a Sport is a fascinating view into how one player and his older brother strived to change professional lacrosse.
UFC Embedded (2014)
Go behind the scenes in the life of an MMA fighter in UFC Embedded. Think of UFC Embedded as MMA’s version of Hard Knocks. Before every pay-per-view event, the UFC documents the days leading up to fight night through the eyes of the fighters on the main card. It’s an all-access video blog series that features interviews with the fighters, family members, friends, and coaches.
From training in the gym and sparring with teammates to signing autographs and making media appearances, the series chronicles every aspect of fight week, providing the fans with an inside look into what it takes to be a UFC athlete.
Eli's Places (2021)
Eli Manning explores the intricacies and wonders of college football in Eli’s Places. Serving as the spinoff to Peyton’s Places, Eli’s Places focuses on college football as the youngest Manning brother travels around the country, exploring what makes college football a way of life.
Eli travels to some of college football’s most iconic locations, such as Notre Dame and the Rose Bowl, and interviews legends of the sport along the way, including Jim McMahon and Tim Tebow. Eli even went undercover at Penn State walk-on tryouts as “Chad Powers” in one of the standout episodes of season 2. Eli’s Places is a fun, upbeat view of a game loved by so many fans nationwide.
30 for 30 (2009)
Vince's Places (2022)
The Last Dance (2020)
Peyton's Places (2019)
Bananaland (2022)
The Ultimate Fighter (2005)
Detail: From The Mind of Daniel Cormier (2019)
Man in the Arena: Tom Brady (2021)
The Captain (2022)
NFL Primetime (1970)
America's Caddie (2020)
Dana White's Contender Series (2017)
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