Browns Digest

Browns To Be Part Of "Hard Knocks" In Season Series Featuring AFC North

The Browns were featured on the original version of the show back in 2018.

Spencer German

Browns general manager Andrew Berry, left, and head coach Kevin Stefanski watch practice during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry, left, and head coach Kevin Stefanski watch practice during minicamp, Thursday, June 13, 2024, in Berea. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Cleveland fans will have to make time for a little more Browns content this fall.

The franchise is slated to make another appearance on HBO and NFL Films’ Hard Knocks, this time as part of the program's "in-season" version of the series. The Browns won't be alone though as the entire AFC North will be featured this year as part of a first-of-its-kind story chronicling the week-to-week proceedings of an entire NFL Division.

The first episode is slated to begin on Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. Subsequent episodes will air Tuesdays through the end of the NFL regular season and continue into the NFL playoffs in January 2025.

"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, in an official release. “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 Browns, of course, were the most recent AFC North team to be featured on the docu-series, which highlighted training camp and the build up to the regular season in 2018. That year's version of the show provided some unforgettable moments from then Browns WR Jarvis Landry's explicit hype speech to the rest of his position group, to then Browns DE Carl Nassib offering financial advice to his teammates.

It also revealed some of the early dysfunction that later came to light between then head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Cleveland isn't the only AFC North team to be featured on the 18-time Emmy-Winning series though. The Baltimore Ravens were actually the first ever franchise to host the program in 2001. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals are the only team in the division to make multiple appearances on the training camp version of the show in 2009 and 2013. As for the Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers, this will be their first time being part of the series, but with no shortage of storylines given the team's revamped quarterback room.

This newest installment of "Hard Knocks" speaks to the shows growth over more than two decades as they will now release variations of the show covering each phase of the NFL calendar. Last month it was revealed that an offseason version of the show featuring the New York Giants would debut on Tuesday, July 2. Additionally, their usual training camp version of the show will begin on Tuesday Aug. 6, featuring the Chicago Bears.

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Spencer German
SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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