AMC has announced that it is picking up a full series order for a show called Hell on Wheels.
By the name alone, you might think this is to be some sort of Sons of Anarchy retread, but as it turns out not so much. Here’s a bit of the press release:
“Hell on Wheels” tells the epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on a Confederate soldier (Anson Mount) who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who have killed his wife. His journey takes him west to ‘Hell on Wheels,' a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot of a town that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat unprecedented for its time. The series examines the railroad's institutionalized greed and corruption, the immigrant experience, and the plight of the newly emancipated African-Americans during reconstruction. Over time, “Hell on Wheels” chronicles this potent turning point in our nation's history, and how uncivilized the business of civilization can be.
If you have read any of my coverage of AMC’s programming, you’ll know I’m a full blast unabashed superfan of what they’re up to over their on the outer fringes of the cable dial (and with The Walking Dead’s breakout numbers they are on the “map” now in a big time way). Therefore, any and all news relating to new AMC shows gets my notice and attention.
And I’m really excited to see what they do with a Western. More than that though I’m pleased that the “angle” and setting is rather unique. We’re not talking about your typical ranchers vs. homesteaders or The Man With No Name kind of story here, so it will be intriguing to see how this story is brought to life. As I mentioned recently in declaring Boardwalk Empire one of the best TV shows of 2010, we’re seeing a trend of shows that would have traditionally been made into feature films, and I think Hell on Wheels falls safely into that category.
While I’m not familiar with lead actor Anson Mount’s work, the supporting cast includes some outstanding names, including Common, who will play Cullen Bohannon, and Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant. Common has been on my radar as an actor since he appeared in the otherwise uneven Smokin’ Aces in 2006, and I’ve long been a fan of Meaney dating back to his role as Chief Miles O’Brien on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Westerns rise and fall in popularity in cycles, and you’d have to think that they are back in vogue these days. If you look at the full spectrum of what’s going on, you have Red Dead Redemption, considered by many to be the top videogame of the year (and in terms of pure sales figures, games blow away other forms of media), and major film releases such as True Grit coming out, a remake of the 1969 John Wayne flick of the same name.
For kicks, check out this rather amazing Red Dead Redemption “short film” that is set entirely with RDR’s animated world, by director John Hillcoat:
This show looks amazing, I really can't wait. However I do disagree with you on the Red Dead short film. I've watched the whole thing and played the whole game - the movie is just snippets of the game edited together (out of order, by the way) and to me it's just an odd representation of RDR.
Good call on the film Reuben -- I just watched the first few minutes and was stunned all over again by how amazing the world of RDR looks visually.
Hell on Wheels looks fantastic. There are a lot of possibilities for westerns to go wrong though. Hopefully AMC will be able to steer clear of them. If they don’t though, at least I won’t feel ripped off like I used to when a show fell flat. My mentality was simply that if I was paying that much a month I wanted the shows to be great every time. I know, I know…that doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s just kind of how I felt. That all changed though when I became a subscriber and employee of DISH Network. My bill dropped to an affordable level and I started feeling like I was getting much more value for my money. Of course, there’s a lot of different things to consider when choosing a TV service provider. Price is a big one but it isn’t everything. That’s why I was pretty excited to hear about www.BestTVForMe.com. It’s a site that takes a fair, up-close look at all the major TV service providers, weighing the pros and cons of each. And while DISH didn’t knock it out of the park in every category overall they did very well. I encourage you to check it out for yourself and make an informed decision on what would be best for you.
Wow Travis, it's nearly as though you weren't paid to write that comment ;-)