AMC continues to be Western-friendly. as the network has renewed the railroad drama Hell on Wheels for a fourth season.  Starring Anson Mount, Colm Meaney and Common, the Emmy-nominated series recently wrapped its third season with an average viewership of 3.3 million, a strong showing for Saturday nights.  Although the show has produced ten episodes a season in its previous three years, AMC has ordered a 13-episode fourth season, which will begin airing next summer.  Hit the jump for more on Hell on Wheels, and to find out the fate of the network's freshman crime drama, Low Winter Sun.

hell on wheels season four

News of the Hell on Wheels season four renewal comes courtesy of TV Line.  AMC president Charlie Collier had this to say:

“AMC has served passionate Western fans for three decades, so it is particularly gratifying to see these viewers capping off their Saturdays with an original Western on what has historically been a tough night of the week for television. Our commitment to the genre is unwavering and we look forward to continuing to super-serve this audience with an expanded fourth season of Hell on Wheels.”

The network has not released any official word on the status of Low Winter Sun, a new drama that has yet to find itself an audience.  In the absence of Breaking Bad, the hope is that binge watching and streaming video will boost interest in the show.  AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan had this to say about the changing nature of how audiences view content (via THR):

"There is, as a consequence of the technology, this new phenomenon that really does seem to be occurring.  We have to be very careful about not being precipitous in our judgment of TV shows as to whether they can build a head of steam. So as it relates to Low Winter Sun, we’re evaluating ... I thought that the last few episodes were quite different and better and more urgent than the first part of the season. I think the backdrop is sort of interesting. We’ll have to evaluate exactly what we do and how much benefit the mid-season/off-season effect can be. But it’s not to be underestimated."

Any Hell on Wheels and/or Low Winter Sun fans out there?  Sound off about this latest news in the comments!