HBO’s “Hard Knocks” sports documentary series is expanding its scope for this year’s season edition. Unlike the previous three years, which followed one roster, the 2024 edition will follow teams from an entire division throughout the regular season.
“Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North” will chronicle the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. NFL Films and HBO made the announcement on Monday.
The show will premiere on December 3rd at 9pm ET on HBO and stream on Max. The season runs until the playoffs in January, with a new episode debuting every Tuesday.
The AFC North is a good choice to start this new format because it was the only division last season in which all four teams finished above .500 and three of them won 10 or more games, led by the Ravens’ conference-best 13– 4. record.
The official launch of NFL Films provides a reminder that three NFC North teams also have a prior history of “Hard Knocks.” The Ravens were the first team to appear on the show in 2001. The Bengals appeared twice, in 2009 and 2013. And the Browns had the training camp showcase in 2018. For the Steelers, this will be their debut.
“Hard Knocks” kicked off an in-house edition of the show during the 2021 season following the Indianapolis Colts. Subsequent seasons chronicled the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. In two of those three cases, the program was fortunate enough to have picked a team for a playoff run.
The 2024-25 NFL campaign will feature three seasons of “Hard Knocks,” with the New York Giants featured in the offseason, the Chicago Bears during training camp and the post-season edition of the AFC North.
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