AMC orders Season 3 of railroad drama 'Hell on Wheels'

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- AMC says it has renewed its 19th century-set, American railroad-themed drama series "Hell on Wheels" for a third season.

John Wirth, who has worked on "V," "Fallen Skies" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," is to serve as executive producer and show-runner for Season 3, which will consist of 10, one-hour episodes. It is scheduled to premiere in late 2013.

The show's second season wrapped in October.

"As we gear up for Season 3 of 'Hell on Wheels' we are pleased to have such an accomplished show-runner as John Wirth join our team," Susie Fitzgerald, AMC's senior vice president of scripted development and current programming, said in a statement Wednesday. "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 United States."

The show stars Anson Mount, Colm Meaney and Common.