AMC passes on two pilots; what this means for ‘Hell on Wheels,’ ‘Halt and Catch Fire,’ others

In some ways, it is difficult as a TV fan to mourn a show that you never even had a chance to see. Even when it may have good producers or actors involved, it’s always possible that nothing came together. More often than not, there are reasons that a pilot does not turn into a series.

Anyway, AMC handed down the news today that the pilots for “Knifeman” and “Galyntine” have not been picked up to series, which is somewhat surprising that we had names like Ridley Scott and network favorite Greg Nicotero involved here in some capacity.

Of course, the network put out what is a pretty politically-correct statement about some of these moves:

“We have enormous admiration and appreciation for everyone associated with these projects. We are grateful to have ongoing relationships with several of these talented creators and look forward to working together again.”

The larger question we always wonder with these announcements is what it means for shows that are on the air right now. “The Walking Dead,” “Better Call Saul,” “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” and “Halt and Catch Fire” have all been renewed for additional seasons already. “Mad Men” is ending in the spring.

Basically, “Hell on Wheels” is one of the remaining question marks. We’d say that superficially, these shows not getting picked up is a good thing for the Western, since they may want to carry another original show into the fall, where “The Walking Dead” is currently the only original series airing. It’s not a guarantee of anything, but given recent ratings, we still feel pretty confident.