This week, The Washington Post calls Hell on Wheels "impressive and gritty," while Anson Mount tells The Los Angeles Daily News how he wished for a Western role. Read on for more Hell on Wheels news:

• The Washington Post points out that Hell on Wheels was "a ratings and critical success last season," and proclaims that Season 2 "is better than ever."

• The Los Angeles Daily News speaks with Anson Mount about his desire to do a Western: "For someone who plays make-believe for a living, being in Hell on Wheels is a dream come true, literally."

• Mount explores his character's motivations with TV.com, explaining that "the whole second season, Cullen is being questioned as to why he's still at the railroad, and it's a good question."

• In a video interview, Common describes Elam to the Associated Press as a person who is "getting some power and not really knowing what to do with that power." Common tells the New York Daily News that Elam "still faces certain obstacles as a black man."

• Anson Mount teases Season 2 to Philly2Philly.com and also talks about teaching at Columbia University and his non-Hell on Wheels projects.

• Mount marvels about the railroad's engineering to Canada's QMI Agency: "It was completed by a group of mostly uneducated men who literally, a month before the project, had been either trying to kill each other or own each other."

• Common tells TheGrio.com he feels "a responsibility playing Elam Ferguson, who is an African American or black man of that time, and is really strong and intelligent and a leader."

• The Calgary Herald visits the new and improved Hell on Wheels set, calling it a marvel both up close and from afar."

• Canada's The Province profiles Christopher Heyerdahl, who says, "God didn't give me the face of a hero, and it's a blessing because you end up with characters that are more fluid."

• Metro Calgary interviews Carol Case, the Hell on Wheels costume designer, who says, "You want to keep as close to the historical aspect of it, but also give it a modern sensibility."

• In its Season 2 premiere preview, Canada's Postmedia News promises that Hell on Wheels is "not your grandfather's TV western."

• Celebuzz previewed the Season 2 premiere with Executive Producer John Shiban, who explains that the building of the railroad is "like a war."

• The Calgary Herald speaks with the cast and crew at the Hell on Wheels Season 2 Calgary premiere earlier this week.

• Cowboys & Indians provides a primer to Hell on Wheels ahead of the Season 2 premiere.

• Breitbart.com calls Hell on Wheels "brilliant" and says it "hits all the beats a good Western needs to hit."

• For recaps and reviews of Season 2, Episode 1, "Viva la Mexico," check out Assignment X, Gather and TV Fanatic.