My only two Hard Knocks I've seen are this and the Giants offseason one, so I'm drawing from a well of limited viewership.
The vibe of Bears hard knocks is all happy, rainbows and gumdrops since this is a team with a lot of hope going into the season. The Giants one was hilariously depressing, a real trainwreck that made for great TV.
Hardcore bears fanatics will definitely relish at the chance to get to know some of the lesser known players on the squad in stunning high definition HBO quality. Non-bears fans who are curious to get to know Caleb Williams will be pleasantly surprised at how normal and genuine a rich, Hollywood college QB like him really is.
As for the production, it's very respectful to Chicago culture and lore, but I expected a bit more creativity episode to episode. The finished product is entertaining, yet formulaic and predictable.
You can expect some funny clips of players bantering about random relatable stuff (ferrets, Love Island, Chicago culture...). Then some cool training camp action clips. Then the Bears tradition of making a rookie do a karaoke number (the God Bless the USA scene was legendary). Lastly, each episode finishes with an unbelievably well-shot preseason game.
My favorite elements of the episodes were definitely getting to know each player, and the preseason games.
Us bears fans got really lucky that they randomly dominated all 4 of their preseason games and scored tons of touchdowns, so the game sequences were really awesome to watch.
Overall it's just a cozy little show that gives a way to get to know the players before the season begins. And hey, hopefully we at least make the playoffs..
Bear down. 8/10.
