AMC has slowly been building a collection of original dramas over the last few years and so far, all but one has gone on to a second season, if not further (yet). It looks like its newest series is set to follow suit as word has it that the cable network’s western drama Hell on Wheels has been renewed for a second season.
Hell on Wheels takes place just after the Civil War and follows Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) as he takes a job working on a railroad out west while plotting vengeance against the Union soldiers that killed his wife. Of course, vengeance isn’t the only thing on the menu for this drama series as the first season has introduced us to a number of characters, played by Common,Colm Meaney and Dominique McElligott, among others.
Deadline posted the news of the series’ renewal today, noting that five of AMC’s six original drama series have succeeded to make it past a first season. Of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, The Killing and Rubicon, and Hell on Wheels, only Rubicon failed to earn a second season at the network. HoW joins the other four successful dramas among AMC’s growing list of original programming. As Deadline notes, Hell on Wheels premiered to 4.4 million viewers, but has since settled down to over 2 million viewers per episode first run. The series has been slow-moving from the start as we’ve been introduced to the characters as well as the western backdrop, but it shows definite potential. It’s good to know the show is being given time to continue to develop on the network.
The last new episode of Hell on Wheels (“Revelations”) aired on December 18th before the series when on a temporary hiatus for the holidays. The drama returns with “Derailed’ on January 1, 2012.
