HBO’s sports documentary series “Hard Knocks” is expanding its reach for this year’s seasonal edition. Unlike the previous three years, which followed one team each season, the 2024 edition will follow teams from an entire division during 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 Monday.
The show will premiere December 3 at 9 pm ET on HBO and will stream on Max. The season will continue until the playoffs in January, with a new episode premiering 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 best record in the conference of the Ravens, 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 got the training camp showcase in 2018. For the Steelers, this will be their debut.
“Hard Knocks” began an edition of the show during the 2021 season, following the Indianapolis Colts. Subsequent seasons have chronicled the Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins. In two of those three cases, the program was fortunate enough to have picked a team in a playoff race.
The 2024-25 NFL campaign will have three versions of “Hard Knocks,” with the New York Giants in the offseason, the Chicago Bears during training camp and the in-season edition after the AFC North.