AMC announced that it’s renewing the hit series Hell on Wheels for a third season with John Wirth signing on as executive producer and showrunner. The third season will run for 10 episodes and premiere in the third quarter of 2013.
Centered on the lawless town known as “Hell on Wheels,” that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, the series examines the railroad’s institutionalized greed and corruption, the immigrant experience and the plight of the newly emancipated African-Americans during reconstruction. “Hell on Wheels” second season wrapped in October with an average of 2.4 million viewers and 3.2 million viewers with Live plus 7.
Hell on Wheels stars Anson Mount as former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan, who is struggling to escape his demons from the recently fought Civil War. Colm Meaney stars as Thomas “doc” Durant, a greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, and musician/actor Common is Elam Ferguson, an emancipated slave working to achieve true freedom in a work entrenched in prejudice. “Hell on Wheels” received a 2012 Emmy nomination for outstanding original main title theme music.