Before Taylor Sheridan turned Yellowstone into one of television’s biggest Western franchises, AMC was already delivering gritty frontier drama with Hell on Wheels.
The five-season series, which premiered in 2011, has recently received renewed attention from critics and Western fans. Both CBR and Collider have highlighted the show as an overlooked modern Western, with Collider arguing that its violence and realism make Yellowstone look tame by comparison.
And for what it’s worth, this Western-loving writer emphatically agrees.
‘Hell on Wheels’ Is a Different Kind of Western
Set in the aftermath of the Civil War, Hell on Wheels follows Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier played by Anson Mount. Bohannon heads west while pursuing revenge against the Union soldiers responsible for his wife’s death, eventually becoming involved in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Rather than focusing on a wealthy ranching family defending its land, the series takes place among railroad workers, entrepreneurs, former soldiers, freedmen, immigrants, and outlaws trying to survive on the expanding American frontier. The railroad serves as both the backdrop and the driving force behind the story.
That setting gives Hell on Wheels a distinctly different feel from Yellowstone. Sheridan’s modern Western centers on the Dutton family’s struggle to protect its Montana ranch from developers, corporations, and other threats. Hell on Wheels, meanwhile, explores the violent and chaotic period when America was still being built.
The series doesn’t shy away from the brutality of that era. Characters face revenge, corruption, racial conflict, greed, and shifting political power as the railroad moves across the country. The result is a Western that can feel considerably rougher around the edges than the polished Montana landscapes of Yellowstone.
Why Critics Say It Makes Yellowstone Look Tame
Collider’s recent look at Hell on Wheels argues that the AMC series remains a compelling alternative for viewers who enjoy Sheridan’s work but want something even more grounded in the harsh realities of the Old West. Its description of the show as making Yellowstone look tame points to the sheer level of violence, danger, and frontier instability throughout the series.
CBR similarly calls Hell on Wheels one of AMC’s most underrated Westerns and recommends it to Yellowstone fans looking for another sprawling drama, even calling it the “definitive modern Western.”
The comparison is also interesting because Hell on Wheels predates the modern Western boom associated with Yellowstone. Sheridan’s series helped bring the genre back into the mainstream, but AMC was already proving that audiences would show up for serialized Western dramas with adult themes, morally complicated characters, and plenty of violence.
Hell on Wheels also benefits from a strong ensemble cast. Alongside Mount, the series stars Colm Meaney as railroad businessman Thomas Durant, Common as Elam Ferguson, Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell, and Christopher Heyerdahl as the mysterious Swede.
The series received mixed reviews during its run, but its reputation has endured among fans of historical dramas and Western television. Its first season currently holds a 61% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while later seasons received stronger critical scores, including a 75% rating for Season 2.
A Western Worth Revisiting After ‘Yellowstone’
With Yellowstone having inspired a wave of new Western dramas and spinoffs, Hell on Wheels offers a reminder that the genre’s modern resurgence didn’t begin with the Dutton family.
Its story is bigger than one ranch, one family, or one generation. The series follows an entire nation changing around its characters, often violently and without much regard for who gets left behind.
For viewers searching for another gritty Western to watch, Hell on Wheels remains an obvious candidate. Take it from the writer who has binge watched it twice (both during snow storms: 10/10 recommend burrowing in that way).