With the New York Giants already slated for the first-ever offseason Hard Knocks and the Chicago Bears making their first appearance in show history on the preseason edition, it was only fitting that the 2024 in-season edition of the show also featured a first-time event.
In March, Mike Garofolo reported that NFL Network CEO Brian Rolapp announced that in-season Hard Knocks would focus on a full division rather than just one team for the first time in the show’s history.
NFL’s Brian Rolapp says in-season Hard Knocks will now focus on an entire division, not just one team. That division has not yet been decided.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 26, 2024
On Monday, HBO and NFL Films announced that the 2024 in-season Hard Knocks will follow the AFC North’s Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFL Films vice president and head of content Keith Cossrow explained why the AFC North was selected as the program’s inaugural division season in the release.
“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.’ 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.”
The show will debut on December 3 and will air every Tuesday through the NFL Playoffs, presumably ending when the division’s final team is eliminated.
[Mike Garafolo, Warner Brothers Discovery Press Room]
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