For the second straight year, the NFL is overriding a team’s stated preference and putting it on “Hard Knocks.”

The Chicago Bears can only hope that having HBO film their training camp leads to a better outcome for them than for 2023’s New York Jets.

With a brand-new quarterback – who happened to be the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft – looking to helm a weapons-rich offense for an original NFL franchise that had yet to appear on “Hard Knocks,” there’s little mystery why Chicago was an appealing choice. The NFL and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the selection Thursday, and the Bears’ five-episode arc will stream from Aug. 6 to Sept. 3 on Max.

“We are honored to feature such an iconic NFL franchise on Hard Knocks,” NFL Films senior director and supervising producer Shannon Furman said in a statement. “The Chicago Bears have a talented roster, coaching staff, and front office all determined to match the expectations of a hungry fan base.”

Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a team-released statement that the spotlight would “provide our passionate fans across the world the ability to experience this unique and critical time in the history of our franchise.”

Not provided by Chicago on Thursday were any thoughts from Bears Chairman George McCaskey, who earlier this year reiterated his desire for another team – any other team – to be the focus of “Hard Knocks.”

“We’re told there is some interest in other teams being on the program, and we welcome that interest,” McCaskey said in March at NFL owners meetings in Orlando.

Those comments echoed remarks McCaskey made in March of 2023, when he said, “We feel there are a number of teams that have compelling stories to tell on ‘Hard Knocks.’”

Asked then if the Bears were among those teams, McCaskey replied, “31 others.”

At that time, the NFL had four teams it could compel to be on the show, per a league formula that exempts franchises fitting one of the following criteria: they have a new head coach, they made the playoffs in at least one of the two previous seasons or they have already been on “Hard Knocks” in the previous 10 years.

The Bears checked none of those boxes in 2023, but neither did the Jets, New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders. Not surprisingly, the league went with New York and newly acquired superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers, despite the misgivings of Jets Coach Robert Saleh.

“I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them,” Saleh said in June 2023.

The addition of Rodgers already made the Jets an object of widespread fascination last summer, and their featured role in “Hard Knocks” only ratcheted up anticipation for what many expected to be a successful season for the beleaguered franchise.

Instead, just four plays into his New York tenure, Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon on the season-opening installment of “Monday Night Football.” The Jets went on to stumble to a 7-10 record and a league-worst 13th season without a playoff berth.

The Bears can only hope that history doesn’t repeat itself with Caleb Williams, who at least will have the benefit of being 17 years younger in Week 1 than Rodgers was at that point last year. As with the former Green Bay star, however, Williams will be under pressure to lead his new team to long-awaited success. Gifted the No. 1 pick this year after a 2023 trade with the Carolina Panthers, Chicago traded away a young quarterback in Justin Fields and cast its lot with the Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California (and before that, D.C.’s Gonzaga High).

With the Bears looking to reach the postseason for the first time since 2020, Williams won’t be tasked with making something out of nothing. Chicago also drafted a talented wide receiver, Washington’s Rome Odunze, with the ninth overall pick this year and traded for accomplished veteran Keenan Allen. Those two joined a pass-catching corps that already featured impressive players in wide receiver D.J. Moore and tight end Cole Kmet. In addition, the Bears signed running back D’Andre Swift and tight end Gerald Everett in free agency.

Those moves built on a 2023 season that, while it resulted in a 7-10 record, gave Chicago fans hope that head coach Matt Eberflus had his squad on track. The Bears won five of their final eight games, including a 28-13 victory over the Detroit Lions, who were on their way to winning the NFC North.

The Bears need look no further than that division rival for an example of a team that followed a “Hard Knocks” appearance with a feel-good fall. The Lions starred on the show in 2022, then enjoyed their first winning season in five years.

Along with the Bears, the Saints were eligible for a second straight year to appear on the HBO show. The Denver Broncos made for a third candidate, but the league decided not to go with a team led by a high-profile coach in Sean Payton, even though he said in January that appearing on “Hard Knocks” might help alter a perception of him as unyieldingly “old school.”

Chicago won’t be the only venerable franchise to make its “Hard Knocks” debut this year. The New York Giants, celebrating their 100th season, will be featured in the program’s first “Offseason” installment, which will follow the moves made by the team from January to July. The Giants’ five episodes are set to air from July 2-30.