Hell on Wheels is an American Western television series created and produced by Joe and Tony Gayton. Set in 1865 in Season One, 1866 in Season Two, and 1867 in Season Three, the series centers on the settlement that accompanied the construction of First Transcontinental Railroad, referred to as "Hell on Wheels" by the Union Pacific company men, surveyors, support workers, laborers, prostitutes, mercenaries, and others who make the mobile encampment their home. It stars Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier who worked as a foreman on the railroad while attempting to track down the Union soldiers who murdered his wife and young son. He later becomes the chief engineer. The series is broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable channel AMC and premiered on November 6, 2011. It was developed by Endemol USA, under the stewardship of senior vice-president of scripted programming Jeremy Gold, and is produced by Entertainment One and Nomadic Pictures. On December 23, 2011, AMC renewed Hell on Wheels for a second season, which premiered on August 12, 2012 and ended on October 7, 2012. On October 29, 2012, AMC renewed Hell on Wheels for a third season, consisting of 10 episodes. The series' creators, Joe and Tony Gayton, no longer are involved in the day to day production. On December 12, 2012, AMC announced that John Wirth, a writer for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, would take over as showrunner for the third season. Production began in the spring of 2013, and the third season premiered on August 10, 2013.