The 15 Best Seasons Of HBO’s Hard Knocks

As entertaining as sports are on their own, it’s always even more intriguing to get a look into the behind-the-scenes antics of the teams on the field. That has proven to be especially true when it comes to the National Football League, with their teams being focal points on Hard Knocks. The HBO sports documentary series has been running for more than two decades, with each season centering on a different team.

Most seasons have been well-received, but a few have stood out above the rest due to the high drama, personalities involved, popularity of the team themselves, or any other number of aspects. These episodes take viewers into the locker room, the training room, and the personal offices of coaches, GMs, and even team owners and show fans how the teams were built for that upcoming season. Often, they are a nice look into what went right and wrong in the upcoming season for each team.

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15 Season 12 (2017)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

By season 12, it could be said that Hard Knocks had fallen into a pattern. Audiences knew to expect tales of injury returns, rookies trying to establish themselves, and both up-and-coming and veteran players attempting to make the roster. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the stars of season 12, and they did feature all of those expected stories.

Of course, being formulaic doesn’t mean bad, as audiences enjoyed these storylines thanks to some of the fun personalities involved. The acquisition of players like wide receiver DeSean Jackson, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and former Jets’ kicker Nick Folk made the team an interesting prospect for the season. Tampa Bay only won five games this season, and Hard Knocks showed the struggles the team would face from the start.

14 Season 17 (2022)

Detroit Lions

Hard Knocks told a great story in 2022 when it focused on the up-and-coming Detroit Lions. This franchise has never won a Super Bowl and hasn’t had consistent winning seasons in decades. However, Detroit became one of the NFL’s best teams and this season of Hard Knocks showed how it all started and also made the team one of the most popular in the NFL thanks to its colorful faces, hard-working determination, and quirky attitudes.

The fact this was an origin story of a team that quickly rose to the top of the NFL makes it a season worth seeking out.

What really worked about this season was that the documentary series didn’t just tell the story of football players and coaches trying to win in any given season. Instead, this chose to contrast the team to the blue-collar city in which it resides. The struggles of this underdog team played well as an allegory of the city, down but never out. The fact this was an origin story of a team that quickly rose to the top of the NFL makes it a season worth seeking out.

13 Season 5 (2009)

Cincinnati Bengals

In a lot of ways, TV shows are often measured by the accolades they rack up and the most prestigious award is often an Emmy. Hard Knocks picked up its first two Emmy Awards in season 5, winning for Outstanding Edited Sports Series or Anthology and for Outstanding Post Produced Audio / Sound.

That is enough to understand why season 5 was such a success but it goes further than that. The story of the Cincinnati Bengals was highly entertaining given that it included the endlessly charismatic Chad Ochocino and the comeback attempt of quarterback Carson Palmer. The latter was the biggest story of the season, as Palmer’s injury could have ended his career, making this a huge feel-good comeback story for the Bengals’ quarterback.

12 Season 9 (2020)

Atlanta Falcons

One of the most intriguing eras for any team to see unfold is when they’re in the process of rebuilding. They typically feature young players who are potential stars and some veterans thrown in who can act as leaders, which always makes for good television. That was what was going on with the Atlanta Falcons during season 9 of the show.

The team was a few years away from a Super Bowl appearance and this season saw them attempt to toughen up following a rough season, while also showcasing rookies trying to make the squad. This was a nice time capsule for the Falcons’ faithful because it showed the start of what ended up becoming the end of the road for their head coach Mike Smith, who was fired after only winning six games this season.

11 Season 2 (2002)

Dallas Cowboys

One way to ensure large viewership numbers is to add the Dallas Cowboys to the Hard Knocks schedule. One of the most polarizing teams in the NFL, fans either love or hate the Cowboys, so lots of people tuned in to see them succeed or fail in the second season of the HBO series. This was another case where the team ended up falling flat during the season, and the reality TV series showed how that all started in the preseason.

This was Dave Campo’s final season as the Cowboys head coach after they only won five games in the 2002 NFL season. The next season, Dallas brought in Bill Parcells and began to finally turn things around. There, however, were lots here for Cowboys fans and haters to enjoy, including seeing Emmit Smith toward the end of his career with the Cowboys and a large amount of time spent focusing on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and their preparations for the season.

10 Season 3 (2007)

Kansas City Chiefs

Liev Schreiber has handled the narration for every season of Hard Knocks except one. That was season 3, which instead was voiced over by charismatic actor Paul Rudd, who is an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan, which made sense since it was the Chiefs who were the subject of this season. Of course, this was way before the Patrick Mahomes era of the franchise, coming way back in 2007.

This season saw Priest Holmes attempt to come back from a career-threatening injury, an Arena Football player trying to make it in the NFL, and a player trying a new position, which was all great to see unfold. While the Chiefs finished with only four wins that season, the documentary series showed a team that was determined to build something, and it also featured a nice look at their late team owner, Lamar Hunt, who they honored that season.

9 Season 10 (2015)

Houston Texans

A frustrating time for a team can be when they’re close to making the playoffs only to just miss out on it. That’s the unfortunate situation that the Houston Texans found themselves in when they were on Hard Knocks, though it helped make for a great reality TV.

Throw in a quarterback battle and David Quessenberry’s emotional comeback attempt from cancer, and it was a winning formula.

The season was boosted by the notable personalities to appear on it, including megastar J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, who was returning from injury. Throw in a quarterback battle and David Quessenberry’s emotional comeback attempt from cancer, and it was a winning formula. The season was also a good one with the team winning nine games, winning the AFC South, and getting back on the winning track. This episode showed how it all began.

8 Season 20 (2023)

New York Jets

The 2023 season of Hard Knocks was full of promise, but things didn’t quite work out well when the season finally began. What made this an easy sell for fans was the fact that future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers had joined the New York Jets after spending his entire career with the Green Bay Packers. The Jets thought they would be able to turn their fortunes around with Rodgers at quarterback, but it didn’t happen. Rodgers was injured in the first game of the season and has never been the same.

However, this season was filmed before that injury, and it was a huge opportunity for fans to see Rodgers getting ready to prepare his new team for what he hoped would be a giant turnaround. While that isn’t how it turned out, this was still a season that was unlike any that came before thanks to the all-star QB switching teams.

7 Season 1 (2001)

Baltimore Ravens

Sometimes, it’s difficult to top the original and Hard Knocks got off to a strong start with its debut season. Right from the start, the narration by actor Liev Schreiber proved to be one of the best parts, which it continued to be throughout the rest of the series. This season focused on the Baltimore Ravens, which was automatically interesting because they had just won the Super Bowl the previous year.

Audiences were captivated by the team struggling to adjust to a season-ending injury to a key player and the arrival of rookie Todd Heap, who would become the franchise’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions. This was a very different Hard Knocks than what HBO delivered in the future since it was with a team who was on top of the world, while later seasons focused on teams fighting their way up.

6 Season 11 (2016)

Los Angeles Rams

One year after the Houston Texans were showcased, the series shifted to center on the Los Angeles Rams. This was interesting on the surface because it was the first season for the Rams in California after spending decades in St. Louis. That made it instantly something to check out as fans could see the way the transition was being handled, and the excitement of fans who had waited two decades to get their team back in Los Angeles.

The quarterbacks also played a pivotal role, with veteran Super Bowl winner Nick Foles getting cut over the phone during an episode and rookie Jared Goff being given the reins of the franchise. This was early on in Sean McVay’s career before he proved himself as a championship-winning head coach, and while he would make some key moves after this season, it showed how he was ready to build this team into a winner.

5 Season 8 (2013)

Cincinnati Bengals

It makes sense that the Dallas Cowboys were the first team to be featured on the show twice. They are “America’s team” and are known as the most popular (and most hated) franchise in football. Interestingly, the second team to make two appearances was the Cincinnati Bengals. Both Bengals’ seasons rank near the top, showing how engaging they are to watch.

James Harrison was notable in this season for disliking the camera crew, which was a new angle for storytelling. Other than the expected plot points, there was the tale of a linebacker who wanted to pursue painting instead of football. This was a fun season thanks to the antagonistic relationship between the players and the camera crews, both of whom were only doing their jobs and trying to put out a winning product.

4 Season 14 (2019)

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders were an intriguing team when they appeared on Hard Knocks in 2019, with Jon Gruden in his second year as their head coach since returning to the team he previously coached over a decade before. However, this was not the same Raiders that Gruden led in the past, and this season of Hard Knocks showed how the questionable decisions they made would end up causing the team to implode during the season.

The team also signed Richie Incognito, who had previously been ostracized from the NFL for bullying charges against teammates.

Oakland brought in wide receiver Antonio Brown, who seemed to cause more problems off the field than he made plays on it. He even had a huge storyline here that showed him butting heads with the NFL about what kind of helmet he was going to wear in games. The team also signed Richie Incognito, who had previously been ostracized from the NFL for bullying charges against teammates. Needless to say, this season was what Oakland Raiders fans would come to expect.

3 Season 6 (2010)

New York Jets

There’s almost always something of intrigue happening in New York, so making the Jets the stars of a season was bound to produce some entertainment. The season earned Hard Knocks a second consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Edited Sports Series or Anthology.

The Jets were so good as the focal point that they were actually offered the spotlight for the following season but declined. This was a year when the Jets made the AFC Championship game, making them one of the best teams in Hard Knocks history. The season also featured the boisterous Rex Ryan, the contract holdout of star Darrelle Revis, and the oddly hilarious moment where Antonio Cromartie failed to name all nine of his children.

2 Season 13 (2018)

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have been in football headlines for several years now and this was where it all began, since this was the arrival of number one draft pick Baker Mayfield. The quarterback was an obvious big star in this season but he was far from alone in that department. The season started with Mayfield and fellow first round draft pick Nick Chubb getting off the plane and fans asking Chubb if he was anyone important. He soon became the Browns’ all-pro running back.

It also showed why Jackson would get fired at the end of the season, because he never had a hold on his team at all in this season of
Hard Knocks.

The season featured plenty of fun personalities from Carl Nassib teaching players about finances to Devon Cajuste’s relationship with his father to Jarvis Landry assuming the role of team leader to Hue Jackson trying to keep his job after winning just one game in two years. It made for a fantastic season. It also showed why Jackson would get fired at the end of the season, because he never had a hold on his team at all in this season of Hard Knocks.

1 Season 4 (2008)

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys proved why they were America’s Team in the 2008 version of Hard Knocks. This season saw just about everything fans could want from the show and both Cowboys fans and haters had a lot to dig into in this season. Tony Romo was on full display here, entrenched as the Cowboys starting quarterback and showing the personality that would make him a major crossover star and eventual television personality when he retired a decade later.

There were also a lot of controversial players on display, including rookie Martellus Bennett making jokes and acting out in training camp and Pacman Jones showing why he was never a player to ignore. Wade Phillips was a perfect coach for Hard Knocks, cranky yet somehow lovable. This was the last season Dallas played at Texas Stadium, so it was also a piece of history as it was a goodbye to the beloved legendary venue.