As expected, Hell on Wheels did receive a third season from AMC. The cable network seldom has been in a position where it had to cancel original programs with Rubicon and The Killing being its the lone victims, so such an event would have been surprising to say the least. Viewership for Hell on Wheels was down 20% in its second season; however, the show has sense moved away from its Walking Dead lead-in thus the drop-off.
This may be cause for concern at a later date considering it is just 2.4 million viewers per outing, but for the time being that is a fairly decent figure considering the network is running out of scripted programming with Mad Men and Breaking Bad looking to exit within the next few years.
Additional information is to be had today in the form of a behind-the-scenes shakeup for the western. Series creators Joe and Tony Gayton are said to be exiting their executive producer roles in favor of establishing other programs across the dial. The pair most recently sold a crime drama to NBC.