AMC's 'Hell on Wheels' Officially Given Third Season

AMC has officially ordered a 10-episode third season of Hell
of Wheels
, to air in third quarter of 2013.

John Wirth (V, Falling Skies, Terminator: The Sarah
Connor Chronicles
) has been tapped as the new executive producer and
showrunner for the western drama. He replaces John Shiban, who left the series
last month. The search for a new showrunner had been holding up the network
officially announcing the show's renewal, whichwas first reported in October.

"As we gear up for season three of Hell on Wheels
we are pleased to have such an accomplished show runner as John Wirth join our
team," said Susie Fitzgerald, AMC's senior VP of scripted development and
current programming. "With the help of our partners at Entertainment One,
Endemol and Nomadic, we look forward to a new season of the poetic and pulpy
adventures of Cullen Bohannan and the other characters as they build the
railroad across the US."

Hell on Wheels' second season averaged 2.4 million
viewers, down from the roughly 3 million it averaged in its first season, which
aired out of the highly-rated Walking Dead.