Scripted series · AMC
Hell on Wheels
All roads lead to hell.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Anson Mount
Cullen Bohannan
57 eps
Colm Meaney
Thomas 'Doc' Durant
57 eps
Robin McLeavy
Eva
57 eps
Common
Elam Ferguson
43 eps
Dominique McElligott
Lily Bell
20 eps
Christopher Heyerdahl
The Swede
57 eps
Jennifer Ferrin
Louise Ellison
23 eps
Phil Burke
Mickey McGinnes
57 eps
Tom Noonan
Reverend Cole
20 eps
Ben Esler
Sean McGinnes
30 eps
Dohn Norwood
Psalms
43 eps
April Telek
Nell
10 eps
MacKenzie Porter
Naomi Bohannon
13 eps
Eddie Spears
Joseph Black Moon
10 eps
Tim Guinee
Collis Huntington
17 eps
Jake Weber
John Campbell
14 eps
Kasha Kropinski
Ruth Cole
36 eps
Angela Zhou
Mei
14 eps
Byron Mann
Chang
14 eps
Wes Studi
Chief Many Horses
3 eps
Ian Tracey
Bolan
5 eps
Diego Diablo Del Mar
Dix
6 eps
Gerald Auger
Pawnee Killer
5 eps
Duncan Ollerenshaw
Mr. Toole
15 eps
Brian Jensen
Teamster
3 eps
Grainger Hines
Doc Whitehead
5 eps
Virginia Madsen
Hannah Durant
3 eps
Sydney Bell
Ginny
4 eps
Bruce Marshall Romans
Handsome Engineer
3 eps
Kal Weber
Senator Howard
2 eps
James Dugan
Carl the Bartender
7 eps
Wayne Duvall
Senator Metcalf
3 eps
James Shanklin
Aaron Hatch
8 eps
Lara Zaluski
Sara
4 eps
Chelah Horsdal
Margaret Palmer
8 eps
Siobhan Williams
Naomi Hatch
2 eps
Damian O'Hare
Declan
4 eps
Brent Briscoe
Jimmy Two Squaws
2 eps
Tayden Marks
Ezra Dutson
14 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Hell on Wheels actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Hell on Wheels reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
The epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a Confederate soldier who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who 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 run
Seasons
5 seasons · 57 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
201229 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201110 episodes
7.8IMDbBest episode · S01E07 Revelations
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
201210 episodes
8.4IMDbBest episode · S02E05 The Railroad Job
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201310 episodes
8.3IMDbBest episode · S03E06 One Less Mule
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
201413 episodes
8.3IMDbWith Thomas "Doc" Durant back in control of the Union Pacific Railroad, civilization makes its way west to Cheyenne, Wyoming - the "Magic City of the Plains." Conflict between the government, ranchers, homesteaders, and the railroad arises as they compete for control of this newborn city that quickly became the most important railroad hub in the United States.
Best episode · S04E10 Return to Hell
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
201514 episodes
8.2IMDbCullen Bohannon finds himself a stranger in a strange land: Truckee, California. Home to the headquarters of the Central Pacific railroad, this rough mountain railroad town teems with thousands of Chinese workers who are foreign in language, culture and traditions. While grappling with the challenges of corralling his new workforce, Cullen leads the Central Pacific’s herculean effort to tunnel through the Sierra Nevada mountains, sometimes achieving only inches a day in the race to complete America’s first Transcontinental Railroad.
Best episode · S05E07 False Prophets
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S04E10
Return to Hell
Cullen, Durant, and Campbell try to negotiate a settlement on how the streets will be policed. An act of terror strikes Cheyenne.
- Directed by Billy Gierhart
- Written by Jami O'Brien
S02E05
The Railroad Job
Cullen's past catches up with him and threatens the fate of the railroad.
- Directed by Michael Nankin
- Written by Mark Richard
S04E07
Elam Ferguson
Cullen attempts to reconnect with Elam upon his return. Durant takes matters into his own hands while putting an old problem to rest.
- Directed by Rod Lurie
- Written by Tom Brady, Mark Richard
S02E10
Blood Moon Rising
Cullen fights to save Hell on Wheels.
- Directed by John Shiban
- Written by John Shiban
S05E07
False Prophets
Cullen and Durant meet with President Grant to discuss the future of the railroad; the Swede puts his plan against the Mormons in action.
S04E02
Escape from the Garden
As Cullen plans an exit from Fort Smith, he challenges The Swede; when a new adversary arrives, Cheyenne feels his presence.
- Directed by Neil LaBute
- Written by Mark Richard
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Joe Gayton
Creator
Tony Gayton
Showrunner
- Photo unavailable
John Wirth
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Michael Saltzman
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Michael C. Martin
Writer
John Romano
Writer
Reed Steiner
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Miki Johnson
Writer
Chris Mundy
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jami O'Brien
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Lolis Eric Elie
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jamie Linck O'Brien
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Bruce Marshall Romans
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Tom Brady
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jennifer Cecil
Writer
Max Hurwitz
Writer
John Shiban
Writer
Mark Richard
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- John WirthExecutive Producer
- John ShibanProducer
Writing
- Michael SaltzmanWriter
- Michael C. MartinWriter
- John RomanoWriter
- Reed SteinerWriter
- Miki JohnsonWriter
- Chris MundyWriter
Direction
- Neil LaButeDirector
- Sergio Mimica-GezzanDirector
- Alex ZakrzewskiDirector
- Karen GaviolaDirector
- Michael SlovisDirector
- Michael NankinDirector
Music
- Laurelyn DossettOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Paramount Plus PremiumStreaming
- Paramount Plus EssentialStreaming
- PhiloStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- AMC Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- Paramount+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- AMC+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- AMC+ Roku Premium ChannelStreaming
- AMC+Streaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- Spectrum On DemandStreaming
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Peaky Blinders
2013
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
Dexter
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Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Yellowstone
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Where our editors would send you after the credits roll.
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Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
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Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
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A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
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