The series premiere of Hell on Wheels rolled up the second-largest debut audience in AMC history.
Hell on Wheels tracked a 3.1 household rating, translating into 4.4 million viewers during its Nov. 6 bow at 10 a.m., according to Nielsen data. That delivery trailed only the 5.3 million who tuned in the premiere of AMC's zombie skein, The Walking Dead, in October 2010.
Included within Hell on Wheels's debut crowd were 2.4 million persons 18 to 49 and 2.3 million adults 25 to 54.
The show, set in post-Civil War America, tracks the rolling town known as Hell on Wheels, where workers, rogues and entrepreneurs push the nation's Manifest Destiny alongside the construction of the cross-country Union Pacific Railroad. The series is framed around former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount), who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers, who killed his wife
"I congratulate the entire cast and crew of Hell on Wheels for pulling off a project of this scope. Bringing the grandeur of the old west and the building of the railroad to life is no small feat and the Gaytons, with their team, have delivered a beautiful world of which we are all so proud," said AMC president Charlie Collier in a statement. "We look forward to sharing the lives of these characters in the weeks and months to come."
