Hell on Wheels 

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• Photo Courtesy Of Entertainment One
• RAILROAD MAN Former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) finds himself swept into the race to complete the transcontinental railroad in the AMC series Hell on Wheels, now available for streaming on Netflix.

What's it rated? TV-14

When? 2011-2016

Where's it showing? Netflix

If you liked HBO's Deadwood, you're going to love Hell on Wheels, a sweeping, epic Western rich with interesting characters, superior production values, excellent direction and cinematography, and solid acting by a stellar cast portraying real-life characters that include Colm Meaney as Thomas "Doc" Durant, Tim Guinee as head of the Central Pacific Railroad Collis P. Huntington, Victor Slezak as Union General Ulysses S. Grant, and Gregg Henry as Brigham Young.

Though fictionalized for the series, Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon is based on Grenville Mellen Dodge, chief engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, who discovered a pass through the Black Hills of Wyoming and was present for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah. It's like a really entertaining fictionalized history lesson!

The Civil War, slavery and freemen, Native American relations, early Irish and Chinese workers, Mormons in Utah, carpetbaggers, political corruption and graft, sex workers, gunfights, you name it, this series covers a lot of ground. I'm almost finished, and I'll be a bit sad when that last episode ends. (57 42-min. episodes) Δ