''Hard Knocks'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series that aired on the

Showtime Network Showtime is an American premium television network owned by Paramount Media Networks, and is the flagship property of the namesake parent company, Showtime Networks, a part of Paramount Media Networks. Showtime's programming primarily includes t ...

. It featured

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar la ...

and

Tommy Hinkley Hiram Thomas Hinkley (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in the comedy '' Back to the Beach'' (1987), and subsequently appeared in the Academy Award-winning short film '' Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall'' ( ...

as ideologically opposed

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

s looking to make money by solving the problems of their wealthy clients.

Synopsis

Gower Rhodes and Nick Bronco open a private detective agency in the back of a restaurant to make money by solving cases. However, nothing seems to go their way.

Cast

Main characters

as Gower Rhodes *

as Nick Bronco

Recurring and Guest Roles

Judith-Marie Bergan Judith-Marie Bergan was an American film, television and stage actress, known for starring in the Joseph Zito films '' Abduction'' and '' Bloodrage''. She appeared in the television series, ''Brothers'', and had a recurring role in ''Soap'' and i ...

as Maggie * Babette Props as Terry * James Vallely as Silky *Gracie Harrison as Sheila Jesswalters

Episodes

Reception

Critical reception

John J. O'Connor of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

called the show "something truly different." The show has also been reviewed in the

Spartanburg Herald-Journal The ''Spartanburg Herald-Journal'' is a daily newspaper, the primary newspaper for Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. History The origins of the paper lie with ''The Spartan'', a weekly paper reportedly first printed in about 1842� ...

as "hard to watch," and in the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

as having woeful writing, unappealing characters, an infantile premise, and as "making programmers at the three networks look like charter members of Mensa."

Awards and nominations

Hard Knocks was nominated for a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Amer ...

in 1988

Sources

Hard Knocks (1987)
on

TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...

Hard Knocks (1987 TV series)
on

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Hard Knocks- Series Overview
on

nytimes.com ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

TV Review; 'Hard Knocks,' Sitcom
on

US Copyright Office
on copyright.gov

References

{{Reflist English-language television shows 1980s American sitcoms 1987 American television series debuts 1987 American television series endings Television shows set in Los Angeles Showtime (TV network) original programming