The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are making their debuts on HBO‘s behind-the-scenes NFL series Hard Knocks.
The Seahawks, who beat the Patriots last month in Super Bowl LX, will be the focus of the 2026 edition, which chronicles the summer training camp of a single NFL team ahead of the season kickoff. New England will take the spotlight in 2027.
The five-episode focus on the Seahawks, starting August 11, will be the first time Hard Knocks has featured the defending Super Bowl champion since the show’s debut in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Patriots’ run of championships, and the intrigue concerning head coach Bill Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady and Bob Kraft, has already supplied material for countless books, series and films. Apple TV ran a 10-part series, The Dynasty: New England Patriots, in 2024. Of the main troika, only Kraft remains with the team. In addition to owning the Patriots, Kraft is an influential figure in the NFL’s media dealings and is also a close associate of President Trump, appearing this month at a Kennedy Center briefing with the president.
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While NFL Films, the league’s media arm, produces the series and teams technically have “final cut” of sorts, the series is still capable of occasionally generating headlines. In one recent example, the 2024 season featuring the New York Giants included footage of the team’s owner and general manager deciding to let star running back Saquan Barkley, whom they had drafted out of college, become a free agent. Barkley wound up being named league MVP the following season and led the rival Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl title.