Written by on Aug 4, 2014. Posted in On Location

Hell on Wheels producers praise Canada filming as Calgary doubles Wyoming

The creative team on period TV drama Hell on Wheels has praised Calgary as a filming location, having doubled the Canadian region for Wyoming in the central US. Set in the mid-19th Century, the show is set against the backdrop of the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

The show’s fourth season was filmed on a set of Cheyenne, Wyoming, built over six weeks south of Calgary.

“This is the only place we can do this show,” producer Bruce Romans told the Calgary Sun: “It has the prairie, the local talent ... I’ve been in meetings in LA and, yeah, everyone references Calgary – it’s not even an up-and-coming place anymore.”

Added star Anson Mount: “We like very much working in Calgary – I like working in a place that’s not distracting ... It’s a burgeoning film community here and Calgary is very hospitable. They seem very happy to have us here.”

While Hell on Wheels has now filmed four seasons in Calgary, the city’s profile has been given a particular boost by the commercial and critical success of the TV adaptation of Fargo, which doubled the area for rural Minnesota. The drama is reportedly returning to the region for a prequel miniseries set in the late 1970s.

Calgary officials recently confirmed plans for a studio facility. The Calgary Film Centre will offer 500,000 square feet of stage space and will become Alberta’s first purpose-built studio space when it opens next year. Having a studio available locally will help filmmakers adapt to Calgary’s harsh winters, which briefly forced a pause on Fargo due to extreme cold.

(Photos: AMC)