Berea, Oh— The Cleveland Browns have been selected to be featured on the Emmy Award winning HBO show “Hard Knocks”.
A 30-person NFL Films crew will be in Browns training camp at team headquarters in Berea, Ohio shooting more than 2,000 hours of footage over the course of the series. Camera and sound crews will have unencumbered access to players’ and coaches’ meeting rooms, training rooms, living quarters and practice fields.
HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE CLEVELAND BROWNS will be filled with interesting story lines as they follow head coach Hue Jackson and his football team as they attempt to turn around the teams misfortunes, including an 0-16 record. Other storylines will include number one overall pick Baker Mayfield adjust to the NFL, wide receiver Josh Gordon and his continued return to the NFL after missing time to drug suspensions and putting his life back together, as well as the relationship between Jackson and GM John Dorsey.
“NFL Films has always been exceptional at bringing fans closer to the game and they do an outstanding job with every show they produce, including HBO’s Hard Knocks,” said Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. “We have been asked multiple times about being featured on Hard Knocks, and we really felt like it was our turn this year and the timing was right. We want to be great partners in this league, and we also recognize Hard Knocks gives fans a special opportunity to learn more about our team and players. Organizationally, we are confident about where we are headed, but we have a lot of work to do in order for this franchise to earn the respect of our fans on the field. We understand winning is ultimately most important to our fans. We’re looking forward to partnering with HBO and NFL Films to show how our team is working hard at training camp to prepare for the 2018 season.”
“I’ve been a part of Hard Knocks and when you experience it first hand, you come to appreciate the inside look it really gives fans,” said head coach Hue Jackson. “We are excited about what we are building within our organization and feel good about the progress we have made this offseason. Being able to bring our fans in so they can get to know our players and our organization in a different way will be a huge positive for us. I want people to see how much our players and coaches care, how hard they work and how badly they want to win for Cleveland. This will be a great opportunity for our team.”
“Like many, I was reluctant about being the featured team on Hard Knocks but once we sat down and talked about it as an organization, I feel a lot better and understand why the time is right,” said general manager John Dorsey. “Hue and I both feel like this team is in a good place and that we are in the process of building something that will lead to success. Being a part of Hard Knocks will give our fans the opportunity to see how passionate the people in our building are about winning and how excited we are about getting to work and preparing for the 2018 season.”
Narrated by Liev Schreiber, the show will debut Tuesday August 7 at 10 p.m. with new episodes debuting on subsequent Tuesdays until the finale on September 4.