‘Hard Knocks’: NFL Announces Team That Will Be Featured in 16th Season

Hard Knocks is coming back for the 16th season, and the team featured is very familiar with the show. On Friday, HBO Sports and NFL films announced the Dallas Cowboys will be featured in the docuseries that will air on HBO starting on Tuesday, August 10 at 10 p.m. ET. There will be five hour-long episodes of Hard Knocks: The Dallas Cowboys with the season finale airing on September 7.

“We are thrilled that Hard Knocks will be returning this summer and excited for our return to the NFC East and the Dallas Cowboys franchise,” Jonathan Crystal, Vice President, HBO Sports, said in a statement. “We are beyond grateful to the Cowboys for opening up their doors and allowing HBO and NFL Films to spend the summer with one of the sport’s world’s truly iconic franchises as they prepare for the upcoming season.”

Hard Knocks will take a look at the Cowboys’ training camp experience and preseason. The training camp facility is located in Oxnard, California, and the hard knocks crew will head to the area in the next few weeks to start filming. This is the third time the Cowboys have starred in Hard Knocks, having previously featured in 2002 and 2008.

“The Cowboys are one of the most storied franchises in NFL history and a team that elicits strong reactions from fans around the world,” Ken Rodgers, Vice President, Senior Coordinating Producer at NFL Films, said. “Tens of millions of fans love them, but just as many people love to hate them. Either way, when the Cowboys show up people watch, which makes them perfect for Hard Knocks. This year, their high-profile status as “America’s Team” is paired with uniquely interesting storylines. We can’t thank Mr. Jones and Coach McCarthy enough for letting us tell the story behind what we hope is the beginning of an exciting year in Dallas.”

The Cowboys are looking to bounce back in 2021 after a disappointing 2020 season. The team finished third in the NFC East and didn’t have starting quarterback Dak Prescott for the majority of the year due to an ankle injury. During the offseason, the Cowboys hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to be the team’s defensive coordinator.