AMC’s newest period series, the period Western ‘Hell On Wheels,’ has been renewed for a second season, Deadline is reporting. The show’s renewal marks the fifth out of the six original scripted series aired by the cable network to be renewed for a sophomore season. ‘Hell On Wheels,’ which was developed by Endemol USA and produced by Entertainment One and Nomadic Pictures, debuted with 4.4 million viewers in November.

While ‘Hell On Wheels’ is AMC’s second-highest-rated series premiere, behind ‘The Walking Dead,’ in total viewers and in the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, the western has slipped during its season. But it continuously draws in more than two million viewers in its first-run broadcasts, with the newest episode being seen by 2.3 million viewers. The show has aired seven episodes of its debut season, and the eighth episode is slated to air on January 1, 2012.

‘Hell On Wheels,’ which was created by Joe and Tony Gayton, is set in post-Civil War America, around 1865. It focuses on Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon, played by Anson Mount, who is determined to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife. The show also focuses on the settlement of the construction workers of the first transcontinental railroad, referred to as Hell on Wheels by the company men, surveyors and laborers who live in the mobile encampment.

Written by: Karen Benardello