Ratings Review: HELL ON WHEELS (Season Three)

HELL ON WHEELS is like the red-headed step child of AMC. It keeps it around, but it does not treat it as well as the other children.

Despite being more popular, in the ratings, than the premiere series like MAD MEN and BREAKING BAD, HELL ON WHEELS was banished to run its third season on Saturday nights. Then when the bad ratings came in, AMC could have a good reason to cancel the western and move on to another project. Fortunately for us fans, good ratings followed the series to Saturday night.

HELL ON WHEELS averaged 2.15 million viewers and a 0.4 rating in Adults 18-49. it was always at the top of the saturday cable ratings, especially for original, scripted shows. When you compare the ratings for HOW to the golden child of AMC, MAD MEN, their numbers are not too different. And MAD MEN ad the plush Sunday evening slot that the wanted series get.

It is hard to say if HELL ON WHEELS will get a fourth season. It certainly has earned it. But it did prove that there is an audience for a great story telling, TV western.

HELL ON WHEELS (Saturdays at 9 p.m., on AMC)

Date	Viewers*	A18-49
08/10/13	2.49	0.5	2hrs
08/17/13	1.88	0.5
08/24/13	2.00	0.3
08/31/13	2.20	0.4
09/07/13	2.07	0.4
09/14/13	1.99	0.4
09/21/13	2.08	0.4
09/28/13	2.10	0.5
10/05/13	2.49	0.5

* - in millions