‘Perfect’ Western drama declared the ‘most underrated’ streaming on Prime Video
The acclaimed Western series starring Anson Mount is now streaming free on Tubi and Prime Video in the UK – and fans say it rivals Deadwood
A magnificent Western series hailed as amongst the finest in the genre – and it’s not HBO’s Deadwood – is now entirely free to stream on Tubi, as well as being available on Amazon Prime Video, and represents essential viewing for enthusiasts. Hell on Wheels first broadcast on AMC in 2011 and continued for five series until 2016.
The drama was inspired by real events and chronicled the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad in America, beginning in 1865, shortly following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, reports the Express.
Hell on Wheels tracked numerous characters involved with the first transcontinental railway across the United States, including hired guns, prostitutes and various others.
The narrative centred on former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (portrayed by Anson Mount) as he attempts to track down the Union soldiers responsible for killing his wife and young son during the American Civil War.
The programme also featured Gangs of London’s Colm Meaney, rapper and Silo star Common, The Boys actress Dominique McElligott, and the late Tom Noonan, amongst others.
Numerous viewers have commended the series on IMDb, where it boasts a remarkable 8.3/10 rating.
One viewer awarded it a perfect 10/10 score and declared it the “best TV Western” they’d ever encountered.
They stated: “I have watched TV westerns since the mid 1950s, and, after five episodes I can state categorically ‘Hell on Wheels’ is the best I have seen.
“How could it not be, combining a perfect cast, production values and the classic elements, so far of the masterpiece westerns, ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’, ‘Dances With Wolves’, ‘Unforgiven’, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ and, to a lesser extent, ‘The Searchers’.”
A further reviewer awarded the series 9/10, describing it as a “gritty and exciting Western” and elaborating: “I never watched it when it was originally on and thought I’d finally give it a chance after hearing so many great things about it and I’m so glad I did.
“I binged the entire series in just a few weeks and it was worth every second. It’s one of the more underrated shows ever!”
A third hailed it as an “underrated Western” and declared: “The best compliment I can give it is as a big western fan it’s actually one of the better western tv shows I’ve ever seen.”
A fourth viewer proclaimed Hell on Wheels was “The last great western nobody talks about”, adding: “I have been watching westerns my whole life, from the Saturday afternoon classics through Leone, Eastwood and Deadwood, and I am here to state a minority opinion with full confidence: Hell on Wheels belongs in the conversation, and the fact that it usually isn’t mentioned is an accident of timing, not quality.”
SOURCE: WALESONLINE