Bills to be featured on ‘Hard Knocks’ during training camp; series to focus on NFC East during 2025 season
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Bills to be featured on ‘Hard Knocks’ during training camp; series to focus on NFC East during 2025 season
“Hard Knocks” will document the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming training camp. The series will also cover each of the NFC East’s four teams during the 2025 regular season. The NFC East includes the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The Washington Commanders are fresh off of an NFC title game appearance and feature one of the league’s best young players in quarterback Jayden Daniels. This will be the first time “Hard Knock” has covered both Buffalo and Washington.
“Hard Knocks” coverage of Bills training camp premiers Aug. 5 on HBO Max, with NFC East series beginning in December.
This season marks the second straight year that “Hard Knocks” will cover an entire division in-season. Last year, the series documented the AFC North’s four teams during the final stretch of the 2024 season. The series stretched into the postseason, documenting the Baltimore Ravens’ wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and its loss to the Bills in the divisional round.
It’s hard imagine “Hard Knocks” choosing five better teams to chronicle in 2025. Along with having one of the most passionate fan bases in the NFL, the Bills have the league’s reigning league MVP in quarterback Josh Allen, who has led Buffalo to five straight AFC East division crowns.
As far as divisions are concerned, it’s hard to find one that has more intrigue than the NFC East, which includes the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most recognizable franchises in all of sports.
The NFC East also includes the New York Giants (who are entering a new era with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart) and the Washington Commanders, who are fresh off of an NFC title game appearance. The Commanders also feature one of the league’s best young players in quarterback Jayden Daniels, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“Hard Knocks” first premiered in 2001 when they documented the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens during that year’s training camp. The series has covered at least one team’s training camp each year since except for 2011. In 2021, the Indianapolis Colts became the first team that was documented in-season by “Hard Knocks”. The Arizona Cardinals (2022), Miami Dolphins (2023) and New York Giants (2023) followed suit before the series covered the entire AFC North division last December.
This year will mark the fourth time that the Cowboys have been featured on “Hard Knocks” and the first time since 2021. This will be the first time “Hard Knocks” has covered both Buffalo and Washington.
49ers escape spotlight as Hard Knocks focuses on Bills and NFC East in 2025
Hard Knocks: In Season with the NFC East debuts in December. The series will focus on the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles. It will be the first time the series has featured the San Francisco 49ers. The show will also feature the New England Patriots, the Atlanta Falcons, and the New York Jets. It is the second year in a row that the series will feature the 49ers, after the first aired in 2010.
HBO and NFL Films are gearing up for the latest installments of the acclaimed Hard Knocks series. Fortunately for head coach Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers—and the rest of the NFC West—have avoided the spotlight this year.
Instead, fans will get an inside look at training camp with the Buffalo Bills, followed by in-season coverage of the NFC East.
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills premieres Tuesday, August 5, marking the franchise’s first-ever appearance on the long-running series.
Hard Knocks: In Season with the NFC East debuts in December, featuring the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Washington Commanders, and reigning Super Bowl LIX champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
These two editions mark the beginning of a new multi-year partnership between HBO and NFL Films, continuing the legacy of Hard Knocks with fresh access to some of the league’s most high-profile franchises.
“We are thrilled to provide ‘Hard Knocks’ fans a summer with the Bills and winter with the Cowboys, Giants, Commanders and Eagles in the first year of our exciting new deal with NFL Films,” said Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, co-executive vice presidents HBO Documentary and Family Programming, and Bentley Weiner, senior vice president HBO Sports Documentaries. “There will be no shortage of star power.”
“There aren’t many shows in history that have had a successful 25-year run,” said Ross Ketover, NFL Films senior executive. “We are thrilled that the partnership between NFL Films and HBO – which has captivated football fans for so long – will continue years into the future.”
For the 49ers and their NFC West rivals, this means another year free from the cameras and distractions of the series. Coming off a disappointing 6-11 finish, San Francisco will aim to rebound in 2025, without the added attention that Hard Knocks brings. While fans won’t get a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s preparation, the 49ers can focus solely on returning to form without the spotlight cast by HBO’s documentary series.
Buffalo Bills Set To Be Featured on ‘Hard Knocks’
The NFL announced the Bills will be the focus of “Hard Knocks” The HBO series will follow the Bills as they prepare for the 2025-26 season. Hailee Steinfeld, who is engaged to Bills quarterback Josh Allen, will make a cameo. The NFC East will also get the spotlight this season.
Roger Goodell made the announcement during the league’s spring meetings in Minnesota … saying the reigning AFC East champions will be documented as they prepare for the 2025-26 season.
While the majority of the show will focus on the team’s practices … there’s a chance we get a cameo from Hailee Steinfeld — who, of course, is engaged to the team’s star quarterback, Josh Allen.
The two are kinda private with their relationship, so odds are we won’t get a full look inside their relationship … but we’ll take what we can get!!
It isn’t just the Bills getting the Hard Knocks treatment this season — the NFC East will be the focus of the in-season edition of the series … meaning the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles will get their time in the spotlight.
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One has to imagine the Giants will look to avoid the memes that came out the last time they were on the show … which showed them lose Saquon Barkley to the Eagles, who went on to win the Super Bowl that same season.
Bills chosen for ‘Hard Knocks’ 2025: Why HBO show was forced to pivot from UNC football program to Buffalo
HBO announced Wednesday that the Bills will be the 2025 subject of the annual “Hard Knocks” series. The show is set to air for the first time on Aug. 5. The Bills have never been on the show, which has been running since 2001. The Patriots are the only AFC East team that hasn’t appeared on “Hardknocks” in the last eight years. The only limitations on eligibility are having a first-year head coach, already appearing on the upcoming in-season edition of the show or having been on it in the past eight years, as the Bills have been in each of the last two years. In 2024, the Bears were the focus of the training camp edition of “Hard knocks” as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took over the offense. In 2025, the show will feature the four NFC East teams: the Eagles, Commanders, Cowboys and Giants. But not long after, the deal reportedly fell through with Bill Belichick, saying, “We’re not training camp”
After some drama over where the famous documentary series would be in 2025, originally tracking to head to the college ranks for the first time at UNC, it will instead be the Buffalo Bills that are the subject of this year’s show.
The series has been running since 2001, each summer selecting an NFL team to follow in training camp as position battles take place and preparations for the new season are in full swing. In recent years, there has even been the addition of an in-season “Hard Knocks” series that follows teams in the early stages of the regular season.
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However, it will be the Bills’ training camp work that appears on this year’s “Hard Knocks” series. Here’s what to know about Buffalo’s selection.
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Bills ‘Hard Knocks’, explained
On Wednesday, HBO officially announced that the Bills would be the 2025 subject of the annual “Hard Knocks” series. The show is set to air for the first time on Aug. 5.
Right here, right now.
Join the @BuffaloBills for Training Camp as they prepare for their biggest season yet. #HardKnocks returns August 5 on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/h3jA5yEL58 — Max (@StreamOnMax) May 21, 2025
Additionally, the in-season version of the 2025 show will feature the four NFC East teams: the Eagles, Commanders, Cowboys and Giants.
Hard Knocks: In Season returns with the NFC East!
Coming this December on @StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/XB9va3Gt3Y — NFL (@NFL) May 21, 2025
In 2024, the Bears were the focus of the training camp edition of “Hard Knocks” as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took over the offense, while the NFC North teams were featured in the in-season edition. The year prior, the Dolphins were the subject of the HBO show for training camp.
There had been a struggle for the NFL to find a 2025 “Hard Knocks” team, as oftentimes, executives and coaches will push against being selected for the show because it brings a distraction to their training camp. But the requirements for candidacy to be on “Hard Knocks” have changed over the years, no longer ruling out reigning playoff squads from consideration. The only limitations on “Hard Knocks” eligibility are having a first-year head coach, already appearing on the upcoming in-season edition of the show, or having been on the training camp show in the last eight years.
Because of that, the Bills were eligible for this year’s HBO show. As Buffalo enters yet another season of being a Super Bowl contender behind Josh Allen, consistently coming up short of their title goals in recent years, “Hard Knocks” figures to offer a look at the star quarterback’s early-season preparations as he pursues the Super Bowl that’s evaded him thus far.
Other storylines to watch with the Bills on “Hard Knocks” could be running back James Cook’s growing desires for a contract extension, or a potential position battle at wide receiver, where Buffalo once again has some veteran talent, but no clear go-to options for Allen.
MORE NFL SCHEDULE RELEASE
Have the Bills been on ‘Hard Knocks’ before?
The Bills have never been on “Hard Knocks.” Because the show has been running since 2001, a majority of the league’s teams have appeared on it already.
Within the AFC East, the Patriots are now the only team that hasn’t appeared on “Hard Knocks,” although they were ineligible in 2025 because they have a first-year head coach.
Why did UNC back out of Hard Knocks?
In February, reports suggested that “Hard Knocks” was set to cover UNC football as Bill Belichick arrived for his first season. But not long after, the deal reportedly fell through. Belichick was later asked about the deal falling through, saying, “We’re not a training camp.”
“‘Hard Knocks’ is training camp, and we’re not training camp. We’re just not,” Belichick said, per On3. “That’s not what we are. The drama of training camp, who’s a cut and all that. Like, we’re a season, and they don’t want that. Yeah, there are film issues, too, but forget about the film issues. Just say you could straighten all those out, ‘Hard Knocks’ just didn’t fit for us.”
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The HBO series had never focused on an NCAA program previously. However, further reporting from the New York Times’ Katherine Rosman on May 20 suggested that Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, played a role in “Hard Knocks” backing out from UNC. Hudson was reportedly seeking content approval and oversight of the show if it was going to focus on the Tar Heels, and because of that, HBO “pulled the plug,” according to Rosman.
“The producers later learned that Ms. Hudson was also in negotiations with another production company, EverWonder, to make a similar series,” Rosman also reported.
MORE NFL SCHEDULE RELEASE
‘Hard Knocks’ to feature Bills in camp, NFC East during season
The Buffalo Bills will be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer. The show will premiere on HBO Max on Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. ET. This is the first time the Bills have been selected for the series. The NFC East will be the focus of the in-season series, which will debut in December. The Bills have made the playoffs each of the past six seasons.
The Buffalo Bills will be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer during training camp, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced at the league meetings on Wednesday. The show will premiere on HBO Max on Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. ET. This is the first time the Bills have been selected for the series.
Goodell also announced that the NFC East will be the focus of the in-season “Hard Knocks,” which will feature all four teams in the division. The in-season series will debut in December.
The Bills became eligible to be selected for the training camp series thanks to a new set of rules introduced this offseason that expanded the pool of teams. There is no longer a rule that teams that made the playoffs in the past two years are able to opt out from participating, which would have applied to the Bills, who have made the playoffs each of the past six seasons.
Teams that are not eligible to be selected for “Hard Knocks: Training Camp” include teams with first-year head coaches, those that have appeared on the training camp version of the show in the past eight seasons and teams that are part of the in-season division selected or next year’s in-season division.
The team’s beginning portion of training camp will take place at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York. The Bills’ 2025 campaign sees them currently favored in every game, per ESPN Bet, and with quarterback Josh Allen coming off his first MVP season. The team acquired free agents Joey Bosa and Joshua Palmer this offseason, while coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane are set for their ninth season together.
This season marks the Bills’ final year in their current stadium with a new one, set to open in 2026, currently under construction across the street.
Episodes will air on Tuesdays through Sept. 2.
Bills training camp to be featured on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’
“Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills” will cover the team’s training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford. The five-part series will debut on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. on HBO. Subsequent episodes will air every Tuesday through Sept. 2.
“Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills” will cover the team’s training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, and is set to feature reigning NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen, General Manager Brandon Beane and Head Coach Sean McDermott, among the team’s veterans and rookies.
The five-part series will debut on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. on HBO. Subsequent episodes will air every Tuesday through Sept. 2
This is the first time the Bills have been chosen to take part in the series.
The in-season iteration of Hard Knocks will focus on the NFC East.
“We are thrilled to provide HARD KNOCKS fans a summer with the Bills and winter with the Cowboys, Giants, Commanders, and Eagles in the first year of our exciting new deal with NFL Films. There will be no shortage of star power,” Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, co-executive vice presidents, HBO Documentary & Family Programming, and Bentley Weiner, senior vice president, HBO Sports Documentaries, said in a statement.
This will kick off a big season for the Bills, with it being the team’s last in the current Highmark Stadium, a handful of primetime games again and the Bills-themed Hallmark Channel Christmas movie on the way.
Saints avoid Hard Knocks, who will feature the Bills and NFC East this year
The New Orleans Saints have escaped another year of appearing on HBO’s Hard Knocks. The NFL has just announced that the training camp edition will feature the Buffalo Bills. This marks the first time the Bills has been selected to take part in the Emmy-winning series. Fans will also get to see the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders featured during the NFL season.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces some fun ones — The #Bills will participate in Hard Knocks during training camp…
And the NFC East will be the focus for in-season Hard Knocks. pic.twitter.com/iN9pslFKLz — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 21, 2025
This marks the first time the Bills has been selected to take part in the Emmy-winning series and fans of the hit show will also get to see the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Commanders featured during the NFL season on Hard Knocks: In Season in 2025.
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Buffalo Bills debuting Tuesday, August 5 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO with new episodes of the five-part series premiering on subsequent Tuesdays through September 2, and Hard Knocks: In Season with the NFC East debuting this December. Both series will be narrated by Liev Schreiber and available to stream on HBO Max.
The Saints have not appeared on the sports docuseries since its inception back 2001 and it looks like they are safe for another year.
Source: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/bills-to-be-featured-on-hard-knocks-during-training-camp-series-to-focus-on-nfc-east-during-2025-season/