ESPN 30 for 30: Addition of Shorts Series Will Increase Program's Popularity

ESPN's 30 for 30 series will return for another run, according to the New York Times. The series will return this fall and run for a two-year span. 

Things will not be completely the same this time around for ESPN 30 for 30 fans. The documentary series' producers have integrated the films with Bill Simmons' Grantland.com.

Podcasts and oral histories will be presented online, but the best feature will be the newly-minted shorts series. A new short film will be posted on Grantland at the start of each month.

In today's fast-paced society, where coffee breaks are a half hour and people fly through a seemingly-endless list of priorities, the shorts series will be an epic hit. 

Let's take a look at why the shorts series was an outstanding idea.

It's the Internet Age

The producers of ESPN's 30 for 30, including Executive Producer and Grantland Editor in Chief Bill Simmons, made the perfect update to an age-old idea. 

Documentaries will always have a niche in society. People crave knowledge. The ability to bring a real-life story across in a captivating way is an underrated craft.

ESPN's 30 for 30 series managed to do that for sports fans the first time around. Adding the shorts series will provide depth to a unique series in today's media. 

Bill Simmons had this to say about the shorts series in his Grantland post on Tuesday:

"

Why expand the series with short films? Because "30 for 30" needed its own Mini-Me. Because live streaming has gotten so reliably fast that we felt like we could pull this off. Because there are stories out there that we loved for four to 12 minutes, but maybe not for a full hour. Because talented filmmakers are usually juggling multiple projects, so sometimes it's easier for them to take on a shorter project than a bigger one. Because we wanted you to waste more time on your iPad, or possibly rear-end the car in front of you as you're watching these on your mobile device when you shouldn't be watching these on your mobile device. Because Pete Rose bet we couldn't do it. (Just kidding.) And most important, because we felt like there was a creative void sitting there for this specific form of storytelling. As you'll see with our first short film, you might not want to spend an hour in Pete Rose's world at this point of his life. But eight minutes? Absolutely.

"

Simmons hits the nail on the head. Today's society uses the internet more than Leslie Knope campaigns on NBC's Parks and Recreation.

People are starved for information and they want that information quickly. Combine information with genuine human interest and you have hit a media gold mine.

ESPN's 30 for 30 had all of those factors the first time around, but the shorts series will provide fast-paced stories with heartfelt storylines. 

Take a look at the first short presented by ESPN Films and Grantland, called Here Now directed by Eric Drath:

These types of stories, like Simmons said, do not command an hour but are worth telling. 

Human beings idolize athletes more than any other public figure. ESPN Films hit a home run by providing a consistent narrative to the world of sports. 

What Will it Mean for the Series?

The shorts series will increase popularity and could hand the 30 for 30 producers an Emmy nomination.

Adding the short films makes the series more unique, versatile and increases the series' reach to viewers.

The sports world is high on games but low on stories truly worth telling. 30 for 30 provides the human element the sporting world has long been looking for.