Development history Hell on Wheels was created by Joe and Tony Gayton in late 2008, and
Endemol USA's scripted television division, headed by senior vice president of original programming Jeremy Gold, came on board to develop the series for AMC. On May 18, 2010, AMC placed a pilot order for
Hell on Wheels with Endemol USA. Joe and
Tony Gayton wrote the pilot, David Von Ancken was attached to the project as director, and Jeremy Gold, Joe Gayton, and Tony Gayton served as executive producers. On July 6, 2010, Endemol USA announced that they had entered into a partnership with
Entertainment One, which would serve as the production studio on the project. Part of the deal between the two companies included provisions of international distribution, with Endemol retaining rights to the series across
Europe, while Entertainment One acquired rights to
Hell on Wheels in all remaining territories. On November 12, 2010, it was reported by
Deadline that the executives at AMC were impressed with the pilot, and, coupled with the fact that the network had just cancelled their drama series,
Rubicon, were likely to order
Hell on Wheels to series. Along with the series pickup, AMC announced that Nomadic Pictures would again co-produce the series, as they had done for the pilot, with Mike Frislev and Chad Oakes joining the series as producers, while John Shiban and David Von Ancken joined the series as executive producers; Von Ancken had previously served as director on the pilot. The network also announced that John Morayniss and Michael Rosenberg would oversee production for Entertainment One, while Joel Stillerman and Susie Fitzgerald would oversee production for AMC. On October 29, 2012, AMC renewed
Hell on Wheels for a third season, however it was also announced that the series creators and showrunners, Joe and Tony Gayton, "will no longer be involved day-to-day on the show" and series producer/writer/director
John Shiban would take over. Following the departure of Shiban, the renewal was put on hold until a replacement could be found. On December 12, 2012, AMC announced that
John Wirth, a writer for
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, would be the new showrunner, starting with the show's third season.
Casting Casting announcements began in July 2010, with
Common first to be cast. Common portrays Elam Ferguson, "an emancipated slave who is working to achieve true freedom in a world entrenched in prejudice". Next to join the series were
Anson Mount and
Dominique McElligott, with Mount playing Cullen Bohannon, "a former soldier hell bent on avenging his wife's death", and McElligott playing Lily Bell, "a newly widowed woman trying to survive in a man's world".
Colm Meaney was next to be cast as Thomas "Doc" Durant, a "greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times".
Ben Esler,
Phil Burke and
Eddie Spears were the last actors to be cast, with Esler playing Seán McGinnes and Burke playing Mickey McGinnes, "two young brothers looking to find their fortune in the new West". Spears was cast as Joseph Black Moon, "a Native American man torn between his culture and the changing world around him".
Jennifer Ferrin joined the cast as a series regular for season three, playing a
New York Sun journalist covering the construction of the railroad. AMC announced that
Dohn Norwood (Psalms) became a series regular for season three.
Jake Weber joined the fourth season's cast. He was initially to portray a
carpetbagger seeking to profit from the frontier, but his role changed to
John Allen Campbell, first governor of Wyoming.
MacKenzie Porter has also been cast. She will replace
Siobhan Williams in the role of Naomi, Bohannon's Mormon bride.
Cast quotes Common spoke about the challenges of playing a former
slave: "Very challenging. And that's why I took it on. It's a lot of responsibility because what black people went through in slavery, within that system of slavery, was really treacherous. And for me, I felt like I owed it to the people that lived during that time to bring something truthful to the character. And even just revisiting some of the experiences of it, [there] was just a lot of emotion and a lot of pain. At the same time, a lot of strength came from it. What I enjoy most about the character is the fact that he was written so strong, not as just a person that was oppressed and kept his head down." Canadian actor
Christopher Heyerdahl talks about how he got his role and the rarity of a Scandinavian character: "Well, luck and providence, I suppose. They say, 'What's luck? Preparation and opportunity.' So, I guess the opportunity came, in the form of an audition. I put myself on tape, and they responded to it. I went in and did a call-back audition, and they felt that we were on the same track. My idea of who The Swede was, was the same as theirs, and vice versa. This kind of character is very rare, with the fact that it fit so well with my background and my understanding of a Norwegian man. It all just fell into place. I still get a little choked up thinking about how often a character like this comes along. For the viewer, it's quite interesting. It's not a character that we see very often, and certainly not in this form. As an actor, it seemed to be tailor-made for me. It's quite wonderful." Irish actress
Dominique McElligott never expected to be cast in a period American role: "I was hanging out in London, having drinks with friends who are all flight attendants, and they said that they would get me over to America for free, and I could stay and do some meetings and auditions.
Hell on Wheels was the first one. I arrived on the 5th of July, and the
Hell on Wheels audition was on the 6th or the 7th. It was crazy! They didn't know me, at all. Obviously, I loved the pilot and I loved the character, but I didn't anticipate ever actually getting the chance to do it. When you go up for these brilliant parts, you just figure, 'Okay, well, they're going to pick some American actress, and that will be that.' But, the opportunity was there, and I really enjoyed the audition. It was fun."
Exterior filming Filming of the first season took place in
Calgary, as well as areas in central and southern
Alberta. The
T'suu T'ina Native Indian Reservation, an
Indian reserve in southern Alberta, was the location for most of the exteriors. Exterior filming of the second season was near the
Bow River in Calgary. Interior filming was in a building near the city's airport. Series producers expected the filming of the season's ten episodes to take about 80 days. Originally, producers had announced a two-day shut down, when the only road to the location was underwater. Later, on June 21, producers announced that the production hiatus, scheduled to begin June 27, would take effect immediately. Filming of the fourth season's 13 episodes took place along the Bow River. Filming occurred from April 24 to September 24, 2014. The fifth season's production filming occurred on the CL Ranch, west of Calgary, for the
Truckee, California, and
Laramie, Wyoming, locations. The
Kananaskis Country park system, 40 miles west of the ranch, served as the
Sierra Nevada mountains the Central Pacific must cross. ==Reception==