Hard Knocks (2001 TV series)
Hard Knocks is a reality sports documentary television series produced by NFL Films and HBO. The show was first broadcast in 2001, and the current 2021 season is the 16th. Each season, it follows a National Football League (NFL) team through its training camp and covers the team's preparation for the upcoming football season. The series shows the personal and professional lives of the players, coaches and staff, including their family life, position battles, and even inside jokes and pranks. It particularly focuses on rookies' adjustments to playing in the NFL, usually with emphasis  on the team's most recent top draft pick. It usually also chooses to focus on undrafted and journeyman players who are attempting to make the team. The NFL and HBO have called "Hard Knocks" "the first sports-based reality series" in television history. Production. The series was created by Marty Callner in 2001. The series has been narrated by Liev Schreiber since 2001, with the only exception being the 2007 season which was narrated by Paul Rudd, a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. The San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Washington Redskins each declined  to be the show's featured team for the 2013 season, while the Cincinnati Bengals accepted, marking their second appearance on the show. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently said that he wanted more teams to be featured on the series, on "some kind of formal rotation." Despite the difficulty each year in finding a team willing to participate, NFL Films announced on July 18, 2013, that it had signed a "multiyear" contract extension with HBO to continue producing the show. In October 2013 the NFL announced that, in the absence of a team volunteering to participate in "Hard Knocks", the  league could force a team to participate. Teams are exempt from being forced to participate in three circumstances: (1) they have appeared in the past ten years, (2) they have a first-year head coach, or (3) they reached the playoffs in "either" of the two preceding seasons. Ironically, the first two teams to appear after such ruling announced were the Falcons and the Texans, appearing on the series in 2014 and 2015 respectively, after both teams declined to appear in 2013. In the Texans case, their appearance in 2015 was eligible for a "forced" appearance, as they had missed  the playoffs the previous two years and were entering the second season of then-head coach Bill O'Brien. In September 2021, NFL Network announced that the Indianapolis Colts would become the subject of the first ever in-season edition of the series. It is set to debut in November and will carry on through the winter if the Colts reach the 2021-22 NFL playoffs. Seasons. Baltimore Ravens (2001). Some of the issues covered in the 2001 Ravens season include: Dallas Cowboys (2002). Some of the issues covered in the 2002 Cowboys season include: Kansas City Chiefs (2007). The series  returned on August 8, 2007, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and their preparations for the 2007 season. It is the only season of the series not narrated by Liev Schreiber. Instead, actor and Chiefs fan Paul Rudd was the narrator. Some of the issues covered in the 2007 Chiefs season include: Dallas Cowboys (2008). The Dallas Cowboys were chronicled for the second time on the television series' fourth season, which premiered on August 6, 2008. Some of the issues covered in the 2008 Cowboys season include: Cincinnati Bengals (2009). The Cincinnati Bengals season premiered on August 12, 2009. Its ratings  were higher than any previous season of "Hard Knocks", and it won two Sports Emmy Awards: one for "Outstanding Edited Sports Series or Anthology," and one for "Outstanding Post Produced Audio / Sound." Some of the issues covered in the 2009 Bengals season include: New York Jets (2010). The New York Jets were chronicled in the serie’s sixth season. An official announcement was made on March 25, 2010, and HBO began airing it on August 11, 2010. It won the series' second consecutive Sports Emmy Award for "Outstanding Edited Sports Series or Anthology". The Jets declined another opportunity to appear  in the series in 2011. Some of the issues covered in the 2010 Jets season include: Section::::"Hard Knocks: A Decade of NFL Training Camps" (2011). At the end of July 2011, NFL Films announced it would not be producing "Hard Knocks" for the 2011 season. No team wanted to commit to the series due to uncertainty with the NFL's labor situation. A retrospective on the series titled "Hard Knocks: A Decade of NFL Training Camps" was made featuring clips from every episode made to that point, and including comments looking back on the series from Brian Billick, Shannon Sharpe , Mike Westhoff, and others. Miami Dolphins (2012). On May 29, 2012, Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin announced that the team would participate in the 2012 season of "Hard Knocks." Some of the issues covered in the 2012 Dolphins season include: Cincinnati Bengals (2013). The Cincinnati Bengals were featured in the 2013 season, which was the team's second appearance on the show. The first episode of the season premiered on August 6, 2013. Some of the issues covered in the 2013 Bengals season include: Atlanta Falcons (2014). On June 12, 2014, the Atlanta Falcons announced that the team would  participate in the 2014 season of "Hard Knocks" premiering on August 5, 2014. Some of the issues covered in the 2014 Falcons season include: Houston Texans (2015). On May 27, 2015, it was announced the Houston Texans would be the team featured for the 2015 season premiering on August 11, 2015. Some of the issues covered in the 2015 Texans season include: Los Angeles Rams (2016). On March 23, 2016, it was announced the Los Angeles Rams would be the team featured for the 2016 season premiering on August 9, 2016. Some of the issues covered in the 2016 Rams  season include: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017). On April 19, 2017, it was announced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the team featured for the 2017 season premiering on August 8, 2017. Cleveland Browns (2018). On May 17, 2018, it was announced the Cleveland Browns would be the team featured for the 2018 season premiering on August 7, 2018. Some of the issues covered in the 2018 Browns season include: Oakland Raiders (2019). On June 11, 2019, it was announced the Oakland Raiders would be the team featured for the 2019 season premiering on August 6, 2019. Some of the issues  covered in the 2019 Raiders season include: Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers (2020). On April 7, 2020, it was announced that the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers have both volunteered to be featured for the 2020 season. This is the first time two teams are featured as both teams are set to play their inaugural seasons at the new SoFi Stadium. Before the Rams and Chargers volunteered, the Pittsburgh Steelers were heavy favorites to appear due to the team's national appeal and rare position to be "forced" onto the series; the Steelers themselves have long  opposed to appearing on the series. On June 18, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 season will premiere on August 11, 2020. The format of the episodes will likely be different, due to the NFL's cancellation of preseason games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dallas Cowboys (2021). On July 2, 2021, it was announced that the Dallas Cowboys would be the team featured for the 2021 season premiering on August 10, 2021. Indianapolis Colts (2021). On September 16, 2021, it was announced that the Indianapolis Colts would become the first team to be featured during the regular season . Detroit Lions (2022). On March 28, 2022, it was announced that the Detroit Lions would be the team featured for the upcoming 2022 season premiering on August 9, 2022. Similar productions. Inside Training Camp: Jaguars Summer. In 2004, NFL Films produced a training camp documentary series, similar to "Hard Knocks", that featured the Jacksonville Jaguars. Called "Inside Training Camp: Jaguars Summer," it aired on the NFL Network, not HBO, and was narrated by frequent NFL Films narrator Robb Webb. Some of the issues covered in this 2004 series include: