The AMC TV network is a basic cable channel that got its start as “American Movie Classics,” airing films largely made before the 1950s and in their uncut and original color formats.

While still adhering to its primary mission to run classic movies, AMC initiated a major shift in programming in 2007 with the successful launch of the original series “Mad Men,” a period piece about the freewheeling advertising world of New York during the 1960's.

Soon after “Mad Men” made its mark as one of the best cable TV dramas, AMC struck gold for a second time with “Breaking Bad,” the explosive story of a high school chemistry teacher who adapted all too easily to a life of crime.

Speaking to a recent gathering of the nation’s TV critics, writer, producer and director Vince Gilligan explained that the main character of “Breaking Bad” was once glibly described as taking Mr. Chips and turning him into Scarface.

Devoted fans of “Breaking Bad” are well aware of this construct, that Bryan Cranston’s milquetoast Walter White, a teacher facing the worst mid-life crisis ever, turns bad. Dying of lung cancer, Walter exploits his knowledge of chemistry to embark on a volatile criminal enterprise.

The final eight episodes of “Breaking Bad” are just getting started during the month of August, leading to the inevitable conclusion that the sun is beginning to set on Walter’s tenuous drug empire as the world around him unravels.

Whatever is happening during the finale for “Breaking Bad” is not being revealed here, not only because we don’t know but it would spoil the fun. One can only sense that it may well end badly, which makes sense given the series twisted nature.

Meanwhile, AMC is launching a new series during August, which itself will be limited by a 10-episode run.

“Low Winter Sun” is based on the 2006 award-winning British two-part mini-series of the same name written by Simon Donald.

The premise of “Low Winter Sun” is incredibly compelling. A homicide detective, played by Mark Strong, is coerced by a fellow officer into killing another detective, albeit a corrupt individual.

Strong’s Frank Agnew is a Detroit investigator who becomes assigned to investigate the murder he committed. Looking over his shoulder is David Costabile’s Simon Boyd, a dogged Internal Affairs officer trying to root out police corruption.

Strong is the right man for the job of the conflicted cop, primarily because the British actor reprises the same role of the Detective Agnew from Scotland’s Edinburgh, a city of urban decay somewhat like Detroit.

“Low Winter Sun” makes great use of the rotting landscape of modern Detroit, where many neighborhoods in the urban core resemble a post-apocalyptic vision you might suspect came from a cheesy science-fiction movie.

Regrettably, decades of corruption and inept political leadership (the twin pillars of a failed metropolis) have rendered Detroit an unfortunate wasteland, which oddly enough makes the city attractive, at least, for filmmaking of crime stories.

Also starring with Mark Strong is Lennie James as Detective Joe Geddes. Together, these two mismatched officers are part of the big story of murder, deception, revenge and corruption in a world where the line between cops and criminals is blurred.

Of course, bankruptcy notwithstanding, not everything is bad in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers inhabit a nice ballpark in the middle of downtown. But then, this didn’t stop Cleveland Indians fans from heckling the Tigers with a chant of “Detroit’s bankrupt.”

Maybe we can’t expect baseball fans, during the late innings after consuming one too many beers, to stay classy. Yet, “Low Winter Sun,” looks to be another class act in the dramatic series department for AMC.

As part of its past origins of a cable outlet for classic films, many of them Westerns, AMC was the natural fit for the series “Hell on Wheels,” the story of the building of the transcontinental railroad.

One thing we can say for sure about “Hell on Wheels,” now entering its third season during August, is that it tells the story of the changing American landscape following the Civil War with a lot more interest than the recent film “The Lone Ranger.”

The third season opens in 1867, the third year of railroad construction. Season three takes a new twist for star Anson Mount’s Cullen Bohannon, who leaves his vengeance-seeking behind as he explores new opportunities.

Bohannon must contend with racism, greed and murder as he single-mindedly leads the Union Pacific in its race across the country against the Central Pacific Railroad.

“Hell on Wheels” also stars Colm Meaney as Thomas “Doc” Durant, a greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, and Common as Elam Ferguson, an emancipated slave working to achieve true freedom in a world entrenched in prejudice.

During the recent TV critics press tour, Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, announced two new series in the works.

“Halt and Catch Fire” is set in the early 1980s against a backdrop of the early days of the personal computing revolution. “Turn,” inspired by the book “Washington’s Spies,” is about ordinary Americans turning the tide in the America’s fight for independence.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the horizon is the expected seventh and final season of “Mad Men.” What new tricks are in store for Don Draper?

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.