For those of us without a close eye on the world of sports, it can be intimidating territory.
There are dozens of varied sports played around the globe, and their fans are unmatched in their passion for their respective teams. The world of football is particularly popular in the United States, where fans of the National Football League’s many teams line up to enjoy the five-month season with incomparable zeal. Those with a particular fondness for the sport may even tune into HBO’s Hard Knocks series, which documents the training and development of individual NFL teams in the lead-up to the official season. These days, it additionally follows the team through the regular NFL season, allowing viewers to catch a glimpse of the entire process — from training to hopeful victory.
The reality sports documentary series has been ongoing since 2001, and it’s as popular as ever. In 2021, it introduced the expanded look at the NFL, with an additional set of episodes — showcasing the regular NFL season — following the typical Hard Knocks episodes. Over the course of its tenure on HBO, the show has followed some of the NFL’s most popular teams — like the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs — and every season, barring one, has featured the same narrator. This year, he’s set to guide viewers through the New York Jets’ training camp and pre-season prep, with the same skill he’s brought to nearly two dozen prior seasons.
Who narrates Hard Knocks?
Its rare that a reality television host lasts through a show’s entire tenure, but — barring a single outlier — Hard Knocks has stayed faithful to its longtime narrator. Liev Schreiber, longtime actor and deeply recognizable star, has been a staple of the program since its very first season, and he remains its loyal narrator to this day.
Schreiber debuted with Hard Knocks‘ first season, all the way back in 2001, and he’s seen a single-season break since then. In 2007 — when the show was highlighting the Kansas City Chiefs — comedic icon and pop culture legend Paul Rudd stepped in to fill the role. As a passionate fan of the team, Rudd was overjoyed at the opportunity to narrate for a season, but he handed the reins back over to Schreiber at the end of the year. Since then, Schreiber’s been behind the wheel each and every season, as Hard Knocks follows America’s favorite teams from training to triumph.