The Seattle Seahawks are about to get the “Hard Knocks” treatment. HBO and NFL Films confirmed that “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks” debuts Tuesday, August 4, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO, with the five-episode season also streaming on HBO Max.
This marks the first time the Seahawks have appeared on the long-running training camp docuseries. It’s also a franchise first in a different way. According to Deadline, this is only the second time since the show launched in 2001 that “Hard Knocks” has followed a defending Super Bowl champion — the first being the Baltimore Ravens in the series’ debut season.
Need more @Jaboowins rhymes this season🎙️
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seahawks premieres Aug 4 on @HBOMax pic.twitter.com/loYtLg84UH
— NFL (@NFL) July 31, 2026
Seattle earned that spot the hard way. The Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, a rematch of the 2015 title game the Patriots won on a last-second interception at the goal line. This time, Seattle finished the job.
What the Seahawks season of Hard Knocks will cover
The series follows head coach Mike Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold, and 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the team tries to defend its title. Defensive standouts Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II are also expected to feature prominently, per Yahoo Sports. Filming has taken place at the team’s training facility in Renton, Washington, with Liev Schreiber returning as narrator.
NFL Films released a preview clip this week showing Macdonald addressing his locker room about the cameras that will trail them all summer. He didn’t dodge the obvious tension — a champion inviting a camera crew into a season built on repeating, not just competing.
“We talked about it in the spring, but this is a gift from the football gods,” Macdonald told players, according to Yahoo Sports.
He followed that up with the real message: don’t perform for the show. Macdonald told his team he wants the cameras to capture the Seahawks as they actually are, not a version tailored for television.
“All I’m worried about is creating the best football team we can possibly create. I want to make sure that we’re us all the time. That’s all I care about,” Macdonald said.
The NFL’s official account has been promoting the premiere on social media this week, including a clip playing on the team’s “Jaboowins” nickname for star cornerback Jarrod Cooper, though a direct link to that specific post wasn’t available for citation here.
Preseason schedule around the Hard Knocks premiere
The five episodes will roll out weekly through September 1, lining up with the back half of Seattle’s preseason slate. Per Bleacher Report, the Seahawks host the Dallas Cowboys on August 15 for their lone home preseason game, then travel for a joint practice and preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on August 21 and 23, before closing preseason against the Kansas City Chiefs on August 28.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Aug. 4 | Hard Knocks premiere, Episode 1 |
| Aug. 15 | Preseason vs. Dallas Cowboys (home) |
| Aug. 21 | Joint practice vs. Tennessee Titans |
| Aug. 23 | Preseason at Tennessee Titans |
| Aug. 28 | Preseason vs. Kansas City Chiefs |
| Sept. 1 | Hard Knocks season finale |
The finale airs roughly a week before Seattle opens the regular season at home against the Patriots — the same team it beat for the Lombardi Trophy — in what sets up as one of the more anticipated Week 1 matchups of the year.
One wrinkle for Seattle heading into camp: running back Zach Charbonnet’s availability is uncertain. Bleacher Report reports he’s working back from ACL surgery, and his recovery timeline is one of the storylines “Hard Knocks” cameras are expected to track once the season starts airing.
