# Hell on Wheels (2011)

> A Confederate veteran hunting the Union men who killed his wife drifts west into a raucous railroad camp where he must survive and build a new life.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1317

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 57
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: western, drama
- Created by: Tony Gayton, Joe Gayton
- Network: AMC
- Cast: Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Robin McLeavy, Common, Dominique McElligott, Christopher Heyerdahl, Jennifer Ferrin, Phil Burke
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699748/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: gritty, brutal, melancholic, propulsive

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate Hell on Wheels as an acclaimed, gritty frontier drama with strong performances and a vivid portrait of the railroad boomtown.

## Synopsis

Hell on Wheels is an American western drama set in post Civil War America, where a former Confederate soldier pursues the Union men who killed his wife and drifts into a raucous tent city that travels along with the crews building the first transcontinental railroad. The town is a lawless, shifting community of laborers, saloon women, gamblers and opportunists, and its ambitious railroad boss schemes keep workers and residents in constant flux. Across its run the story layers revenge, labor disputes, corporate ambition and frontier survival, with episodes built from brawls, saloon confrontations and rail-line fights. The tone is gritty, violent and morally tangled, blending melancholy with bursts of brutal action. Its grime-soaked historical texture and ruthless atmosphere will appeal to viewers who enjoy Deadwood and Justified, as well as anyone drawn to the dusty grit of a frontier western and the slow, costly making of a nation.

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