Everything's bigger in Texas — especially TV ratings.
The Dallas Cowboys are set to star in the upcoming season of "Hard Knocks," marking the third time Jerry Jones' boys are going to be the focal point of HBO's long-running training camp reality series.
While the show has lost some of its bite in recent seasons, HBO still provides a decent enough detailed peek behind the curtain of NFL training camps. This year could breathe life into the series considering where the Cowboys are at as an organization.
Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming season:
MORE: Storylines we want to see this year on 'Hard Knocks'
When does 'Hard Knocks' start?
- Premiere date: Tuesday, Aug. 10
- Channel: HBO
- Live stream: HBO Max
As is custom for "Hard Knocks," this year's season starts in August, with Aug. 10 the date of the first episode. The series customarily consists of five, hour-long episodes that take viewers behind the scenes during NFL training camp.
Following the season debut, the show airs every Tuesday night at 10 p.m., bringing you right up to Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.
"Hard Knocks" is only available on HBO, the premium cable network. In order to stream it live, you'll need HBO Max, but you don't need a subscription to HBO to use it ($14.99 per year).
'Hard Knocks' trailer for Cowboys
The trailer for this year's "Hard Knocks" was released on Aug. 3, and it's a small, small preview of what we can expect for this upcoming season.
Some stars highlighted in the trailer: Demarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Jaylon Smith, Dak Prescott, Leighton Van Der Esch and … oh, Dak Prescott:
America’s team is back.
— HBO (@HBO) August 3, 2021
Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys premieres August 10 on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/wijBo95JWC
'Hard Knocks' schedule 2021
As is custom, the latest season of "Hard Knocks: airs on Tuesdays, starting on Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 10 p.m. ET.
The five-episode docuseries runs until the week of the first game of the season, which is something of a coincidence: The Cowboys face the Buccaneers on Sept. 9, the first regular-season game of the 2021 NFL season.
Here's the full schedule for this year's season of "Hard Knocks:"
| Episode | Air date | TV channel | Live stream |
| Episode 1 | Aug. 10, 10 p.m. ET | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 2 | Aug. 17, 10 p.m. ET | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 3 | Aug. 24, 10 p.m. ET | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 4 | Sept. 31, 10 p.m. ET | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 5 | Sept. 7, 10 p.m. ET | HBO | HBO Max |
'Hard Knocks' teams
In all, there have been 16 seasons of "Hard Knocks" to air, and Dallas will be starring in the series for the third time since the series' inception (2002 and 2008 were the other seasons). Their third appearance marks the most of any other team. Only the Rams and Bengals have repeat appearances on the show. In all, 13 different teams have made appearances.
Between 2003 and 2006, the show was not aired, returning in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the only season not to be narrated by Liev Schreiber, with actor (and noted Chiefs fan) Paul Rudd providing voice-over work in his stead.
In 2011, a compilation show of the first 10 seasons was aired amidst uncertainty of the NFL's labor situation.
The full list of teams to make it onto "Hard Knocks" is below:
| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2002 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2007 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2008 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2009 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2010 | New York Jets |
| 2012 | Miami Dolphins |
| 2013 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2014 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2015 | Houston Texans |
| 2016 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2017 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2018 | Cleveland Browns |
| 2019 | Oakland Raiders |
| 2020 | Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers |
| 2021 | Dallas Cowboys |
