‘Hell on Wheels’ season 4: MacKenzie Porter in as regular; Siobhan Williams leaving
There are tough times for anyone working on the railroad in the era of “Hell on Wheels,” and while we can’t say we’ve experienced anything quite like that, it’s still been tough times waiting for some of the first news on season 4 to come out.
Luckily, we’re here with one of the first significant doses of casting news for our favorite TV Western out there. (Granted, there’s not that much competition, but it’d be a favorite anyway!) According to a report from Deadline, Canadian country singer MacKenzie Porter has been cast to play a very important role on the fourth season. As a matter of fact, it’s a role that you have seen on the show already: Naomi, wife of Cullen Bohannon who he was more or less forced into being with to ensure his survival. She also happens to be the mother of his child, and stuck between the world that she grew up in, and the spirit of adventure that Anson Mount’s character carries with him.
With this news, we understand that you are probably wondering what happened to Siobhan Williams, who played the role during season 3. In a series of posts on Twitter, she reveals that the reason for her departure has to do solely with scheduling issues and nothing else:
“As you’ll probably all shortly find out, I will no longer be on @HellOnWheelsAMC due to scheduling conflicts :( That show was one of the highlights of my career and I am so blessed to have been a part.Thank you for all your continued support and enthusiasm–I will always have a very dear place in my heart for Naomi. It has been a pleasure.”
Production for “Hell on Wheels” takes place in Calgary starting this spring, and will run there for most of the year before its premiere on AMC this fall. Recasting roles can be frustrating and at times unfortunate, but we imagining that the show will handle it in a similar manner to what “Game of Thrones” did with Daario: Introduce the character again quickly, and immerse them in a way that the new actor is not a distraction.