The Jets edition of “Hard Knocks” will launch Aug. 8, the team and HBO said Monday in an official announcement that the training camp reality series is headed to New Jersey.
The first episode is scheduled to air 10-11 p.m. ET on HBO and its streaming service, Max, with weekly installments to follow every Tuesday night. It’s set to run for five episodes.
“Hard Knocks” features a different NFL team every year and offers intimate access into the lives of players, battles for roster and starting spots, and other preseason developments during training camp. This is the 18th year of “Hard Knocks,” which has won 18 Sports Emmys.
The HBO camera crews are expected to make Jets training camp even more of a spectacle following the team’s offseason addition of four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
[ Jets to be featured team on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ reality series despite Robert Saleh’s wishes ]
Before the announcement, head coach Robert Saleh made it clear he didn’t want the Jets to be chosen for “Hard Knocks.”
“I know there’s several teams that would love for “Hard Knocks” to be in their building, but we’re just not one of them,” Saleh said during OTAs.
Rodgers, 39, shared a similar sentiment following reports the Jets would be featured.
“Look, I understand the appeal with us. Obviously, there’s a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team, a lot of expectations for our squad,” Rodgers told KPIX-TV last week at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe.
“They forced it down our throats and we gotta deal with it.”
[ Aaron Rodgers on Jets being chosen for HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’: ‘They forced it down our throats’ ]
HBO previously featured the Jets on “Hard Knocks” in 2010, when Rex Ryan was head coach.
“The 2010 Jets changed the profile and the success of Hard Knocks forever,” NFL Films Executive Producer Patrick Kelleher said Monday. “That Jets team made football fun for fans. And now we are excited for a new partnership with this iconic organization and HBO to create another chapter in both NFL and television history filled with great personalities and a roster striving to reach new heights of success.”
