AMC Moves Hell on Wheels to Launch Saturday Night Programming

AMC will begin airing original programming on Saturday nights, starting in August with the Season 3 premiere of Hell on Wheels the network announced Monday.

Hell on Wheels will kick off Season 3 on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 9/8c. In addition, AMC has also acquired the rights to several Western classics, including El Doradoand The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and the TV series Rawhide, starring Clint Eastwood.

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"A new episode of Hell on Wheels on Saturday night after a full day of western fan favorites is going to be like the saddle on top of the horse," AMC President and General Manager Charlie Collier said in a statement. "This is a programmer's dream — to have a genre specific, 14-hour lead-in to one of your highest-rated originals.  We are so excited about this opportunity to entertain AMC's audience in a new way."

The network, which airs dramas including The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad on Sunday nights, recently added a Thursday night block of unscripted programming. This summer, AMC will use its Sunday nights to air the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad as well as a new season of the resurrected The Killing.

Hell on Wheels was the second-highest series launch in AMC history and averaged 2.4 million viewers in its second season.