HBO, NFL Films announce ‘Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North’

NEW YORK — For the first time ever, television’s most acclaimed sports documentary franchise will chronicle an entire NFL division with “Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North,” debuting Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and available to stream on Max. New episodes, featuring the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, will premiere on subsequent Tuesdays through the end of the NFL regular season and continue into the NFL playoffs in January 2025.

“Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North” will document the battle for the AFC North crown during the final six weeks of the NFL season, as well as a playoff run for the division-winner and any AFC North Wild Card teams. The 18-time Emmy-winning series will deliver its signature all-access coverage as it follows the Mike Tomlin-coached Pittsburgh Steelers, who have never been featured on “Hard Knocks” in the history of the series, as well as coach John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens, coach Zac Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals and coach Kevin Stefanski’s Cleveland Browns. Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will share the “Hard Knocks” spotlight with Derrick Henry, Ja’Marr Chase, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and an array of other AFC North star players.

“Last season the AFC North became the first division ever to have all four teams finish with a winning record, making it the perfect place to launch this new approach to ‘Hard Knocks,'” said Keith Cossrow, NFL Films vice president and head of content. “We thank the Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers for the opportunity to showcase some of the greatest rivalries in football and present the intensity of a playoff chase from all four corners of this incredibly competitive division.”

“We are ecstatic to expand the ‘Hard Knocks’ universe with our partners at NFL Films to the always thrilling AFC North division race,” said Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, co-executive vice presidents, HBO Documentary and Family Programming, and Bentley Weiner, vice president, HBO Sports Documentaries. “In 2024, ‘Hard Knocks’ will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and the Chicago Bears. What a year it will be on HBO and Max for football fans everywhere.”

The Baltimore Ravens were the first team featured on the original “Hard Knocks” training camp series in 2001. Since then, the Cincinnati Bengals have starred in the summer show in 2009 and 2013, and the Cleveland Browns in 2018, while the Pittsburgh Steelers will be making their debut appearance.

Last month it was announced that “Hard Knocks” will now be covering the NFL offseason with “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,” debuting Tuesday, July 2, and will feature the Chicago Bears on the long-running training camp edition of the show, “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears,” debuting Tuesday, Aug. 6. With this announcement, “Hard Knocks” will officially cover every part of the NFL season: offseason, training camp, regular season and playoffs.