Hell on Wheels (season 5)

Hell on Wheels (season 5)
Promotional poster
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	14
Release
Original network	AMC
Original release	July 18, 2015 – present

The fifth and final season of the AMC television series Hell on Wheels premiered on July 18, 2015, and comprises 14 episodes. The season will be evenly split, with the first half having already aired in late 2015, and the second half slated to begin airing June 11, 2016.^[1][2] This season, set in California and Laramie, Wyoming,^[3] will focus on the race to complete America's First Transcontinental Railroad, as Cullen Bohannon switches from working with the Union Pacific to the Central Pacific, upon the CP developer's promise to help find Cullen's family.

Cast

The fifth season features 13 series regulars; Tim Guinee, Byron Mann, Reg Rogers, Angela Zhou, and Chelah Horsdal are added to the main cast.

• Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, who worked with the Union Pacific Railroad but switched to the Central Pacific, upon Collis Huntington's promise to help find Cullen's family (7 episodes)
• Colm Meaney as Thomas C. Durant, whose Union Pacific railroad is in a race to lay more track than the rival Central Pacific (5 episodes)
• Christopher Heyerdahl as Thor "The Swede" Gundersen, who works for both Cullen and the Mormons and, yet, still maintains a hidden agenda (7 episodes)
• Robin McLeavy as Eva, a former Indian captive and prostitute, turned madam for Mickey McGinnes (4 episodes)
• Jennifer Ferrin as Louise Ellison, a journalist and editor of The Cheyenne Leader newspaper, who investigates the swindling of the railroad (3 episodes)
• Phil Burke as Mickey McGinnes, the owner of a casino and whorehouse, and Mayor of Cheyenne (3 episodes)
• Josh Caras as Phineas Howe Young, Brigham Young's son, who leads the Mormon work crew under the influence of Thor Gundersen. (7 episodes)
• Dohn Norwood as Psalms, head of a skeleton crew of Freedmen who are pressured to beat the Union Pacific's rivals (2 episodes)
• Tim Guinee as Collis Huntington, developer of the Central Pacific Railroad and Cullen's new employer (5 episodes)
• Byron Mann as Chang, labor contractor for the Central Pacific Railroad (6 episodes)
• Reg Rogers as James Strobridge, construction superintendent for the Central Pacific Railroad (5 episodes)
• Tzi Ma as Tao, head of the Chinese crew for the Central Pacific Railroad (6 episodes)
• MacKenzie Porter as Naomi Hatch Bohannon, Cullen Bohannon's wife, who struggles to build a new life, family, and home and is awakening her own desire to experience adventures beyond the Mormon fort (2 episodes)
• Angela Zhou as Fong/Mei, a Chinese worker for the Central Pacific Railroad. Originally disguised as Tao's son, Fong, she is discovered by Cullen to be a woman named Mei. (6 episodes)
• Chelah Horsdal as Maggie Palmer, the richest woman in Cheyenne and owner of the Palmer Hotel, who is often at odds with Durant (2 episodes)
• Gregg Henry as Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormons (1 episodes)

Production

On November 7, 2014, AMC renewed Hell On Wheels for a fifth and final season, consisting of 14 episodes, which premiered July 18, 2015. AMC also announced the season would be split into two parts, with half the episodes to air in 2015 and the other half beginning July 2016.^[2] About the season, showrunner John Wirth stated: "The end of the story is written down in history, so we know how the story would end for the railroad." He added: "What we didn't know is how the story would end for each of our characters, especially the ones that we created. It's been really challenging to wrap up people's stories in a satisfying way [...] We've gone down a lot of blind alleys and we've taken a lot of wrong turns and we've lost our way. Now, we've kind of clawed our way back to what I think is going to be a pretty good wrap up for the series."^[4]

The fifth season's production filming takes place on the CL Ranch, west of Calgary, for the Truckee, California, and Laramie, Wyoming, locations. The Kananaskis Country park system, 40 miles west of the ranch, serves as the Sierra Nevada mountains the Central Pacific Railroad must cross.^[5]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
Part 1
44	1	"Chinatown"	David Straiton	Jami O'Brien	July 18, 2015	501	2.07[6]
Cullen visits Collis Huntington in Truckee, California, to lay out a plan for the Central Pacific Railroad to traverse into Nevada and Utah to meet the Union Pacific. Huntington pays him to start tracking down "fresh Chinamen" for hire. Cullen enlists help from restaurant owner Chang (Byron Mann), Tao, and his son, Fong. Huntington later shows Cullen a telegram that Naomi and family have been banned from all Mormon settlements. The Swede arrives to tell Cullen that Brigham Young was a "false prophet" and that Cullen a devil sent to test him. Regardless of their history, Cullen hires the Swede to work for the Central Pacific.
45	2	"Mei Mei"	Billy Gierhart	John Wirth & Tom Brady	July 25, 2015	502	1.55[7]
Cullen and Fong have difficulty working in the Sierra Nevadas, where Cullen discovers Fong is actually a woman named Mei. The Swede works for both the Central Pacific and the Mormons to get boots for the California workers. Cullen returns Mei back to her father, but keeps her secret safe.
46	3	"White Justice"	David Straiton	John Romano	August 1, 2015	503	1.67[8]
After Cullen and Tao save Chang from some slighted American workers who attempt to hang him, Chang seeks justice but must abide by American law. He is later told the men will not stand trial. Mei heals from her injuries and seeks to return to work on the railroad, as she is hiding as Fong from a promised marriage in China. The Swede points out some errors in the Mormon financial ledgers, causing Brigham Young's son Phineas and the California workers to ponder rebellion.
47	4	"Struck"	Clark Johnson	Max Hurwitz	August 8, 2015	504	2.00[9]
Chang succeeds in organizing a strike among the Chinese workers, as the men who attempted to hang him are taken by wagon out of town. Cullen is able to negotiate for some but not all of the Chinese demands. In Laramie, Wyoming, Thomas Durant notes the Central Pacific's progress has increased with Cullen's help. Durant assigns Mickey's cousin, Shea, as his new foreman.
48	5	"Elixir of Life"	Karen Gaviola	Michael Saltzman	August 15, 2015	505	1.90[10]
Chang and Cullen arrive in Truckee with more Chinamen to employ and items for a festival. It is then that Cullen informs Chang that Tao is taking over the payroll. In Laramie, Louise Ellison enlists Eva's help with her abortion. Maggie Palmer arrives, furious with Durant proclaiming Laramie, rather than Cheyenne, to be the hub. Durant promises to revert his decision. In Truckee, Cullen investigates the Swede's receiving rifles in rice crates as Chang allows Tao to be shot dead.
49	6	"Hungry Ghosts"	Neil LaBute	Jami O'Brien & Miki Johnson	August 22, 2015	506	1.59[11]
Cullen travels with Mei who intends to take Tao's body home. Their train gets delayed on the tracks so they set off on a different path, only to face danger at a river. Brigham Young arrives in Laramie, insisting that Durant pays him for the Mormon workers. As Durant and Maggie hatch a plan, Young speaks with Eva, who reveals her Mormon upbringing. Louise is determined to interview Young, who stated that Salt Lake City will be the hub for both railroads. Upon learning of Durant's shady dealings with Young, she writes an article calling the railroads the "greatest swindle" of the time.
50	7	"False Prophets"	Rod Lurie	John Romano & Tom Brady	August 29, 2015	507	1.85[12]
All interested railroad parties arrive in Salt Lake City to meet with President Grant, who believes the Transcontinental Railroad program is in chaos. The Swede and Phineas arrive to speak with Young, who is short with them. Cullen promises Young to push for the hub to be in the city if Young tells him where Cullen's family is. At a meeting, it suggested that Promontory, Utah, be the terminus. Cullen states that there shouldn't be one and that the race should be for Ogden. Meanwhile, The Swede and Phineas plot to assassinate Young, which is subterfuge for The Swede to learn the location of Cullen's family.
Part 2
51	8	TBA	TBA	TBA	June 11, 2016[1]	508	TBD

References

1. Bryant, Adam (April 27, 2016). "AMC Sets Premiere Date for the Final 7 Episodes of Hell on Wheels and New Event Series The American West". amc.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
2. Kondolojy, Amanda (November 7, 2014). "'Hell on Wheels' Renewed for Fifth and Final Season". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
3. "Hell on Wheels: Truth or Fiction". Wyoming Postscripts. Wyoming State Archives. July 23, 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-04. Hell on Wheels, a television series with the backdrop of the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s..., Season 5, set in California and Laramie, Wyoming, premiered last Saturday.
4. Li, Shirley (June 19, 2015). "Hell on Wheels First Look: Showrunner John Wirth teases what to expect in the final season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
5. Beharriell, Chad (July 17, 2015). "AMC's Hell On Wheels – Land & Location Reboot". westernsreboot.com. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
6. Bibel, Sara (July 21, 2015). "Saturday Cable Ratings: 'Power', 'Kill La Kill' & Golf Win Night, 'Hell on Wheels', 'Mythbusters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
7. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 28, 2015). "Saturday Cable Ratings: 'Dragon Ball Z: Kai' Tops Night + 'Kill la Kill', 'Power', 'Sword Art Online' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
8. Metcalf, Mitch (August 4, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Saturday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.1.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
9. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 11, 2015). "Saturday Cable Ratings: 'Dragon Ball Z; Kai' Tops Night + 'Akame ga Kill', 'Mitchiko & Hatchin', 'Power', 'Sword Art Online' & Mroe". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
10. Bibel, Sara (August 18, 2015). "Saturday Cable Ratings: 'Power', 'Akame ga Kill' & Preseason Football Win Night, 'Sword Art Online', 'Cops', 'Hell on Wheels' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
11. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 25, 2015). "Saturday Cable Ratings: 'Dragon Ball Z: Kai' Tops Night + NASCAR Sprint Cup, 'Akame ga Kill', NFL Preseason Football & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
12. Metcalf, Mitch (September 1, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Saturday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.29.2015". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• List of Hell on Wheels episodes at the Internet Movie Database