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Warning: Spoilers ahead
For much of the history of TV, small-town life meant Andy Griffith’s monolithic Mayberry – quaint, white, and calm. But AMC’s “Dark Winds,” which recently aired its fourth season, provides a breath of fresh, dry, desert air. Set in the 1970s, “Dark Winds” is a character-driven crime drama that depicts the lives of Navajo police officers, the criminals they pursue, and the people they help.
Promotional trailer for season four of “Dark Winds.” Credit: AMC+ via YouTube.
Based on the Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito novels written by Tony Hillerman and continued after his death in 2008 by his daughter, Anne Hillerman, “Dark Winds” has a first-class pedigree. The show’s executive producers include George R.R. Martin and the late Robert Redford, who know a thing or two about on-screen entertainment. (Redford and Martin had a wry cameo in a 2025 episode of the current TV series.) Redford was a long-time champion of the Hillerman novels, producing film versions going back to 1991, with “The Dark Wind,” starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Jim Chee and Fred Ward as Leaphorn.
From the wonderfully ominous opening credits – and the title – viewers might expect “Dark Winds” to be, well, dark. There are moments of both literal and emotional darkness, including night scenes and times of human turmoil and tragedy. But the series is usually sunbaked and starkly beautiful in its depiction of the American Southwest.
There are explosive, action-packed scenes – notably the opening moments of the first episode, when robbers steal from an armored truck and escape by helicopter – but many more quiet moments that focus on personal relationships and intense character interaction.
These reflective moments are what make Lakota actor Zahn McClarnon such a wonderful choice to play Sheriff Joe Leaphorn, the show’s main protagonist. McClarnon, who is also an executive producer of “Dark Winds,” was perhaps best known to TV audiences for playing a tribal police chief on “Longmire,” the adaptation of Craig Johnson’s crime novels, for five seasons.
But McClarnon doesn’t play Leaphorn as the grim-and-gritty investigator and avenger that’s popular in crime fiction, TV, and movies right now. Instead, he’s often wry and funny, bringing humor to how he oversees his small police force and bringing tenderness to his relationship with his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison).
McClarnon’s cool and knowledgeable demeanor is also a nice contrast to the characters of Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten). As the series opens, Manuelito is the more experienced officer and investigator, navigating her role as a 1970s woman and cop. Manuelito is smart and incredibly resourceful, but not superhuman. Gordon as Chee is the outsider who joins the tribal department but has a secret (spoiler for a four-year-old series): he’s an FBI agent undercover as a member of the department. He works for FBI supervisor Leland Whitover (played by Noah Emmerich, cast to type after his years as a fed on the excellent series “The Americans”).
Across its four seasons, the show intensifies, providing some resolutions to storylines while other dramatic plotlines develop. As the tension heightens, the characters grow, especially the protagonist Leaphorn, who becomes increasingly vulnerable and afraid. That’s something a lot of series don’t allow to happen to their protagonists.
“Dark Winds” is a show you watch for both the plot and the characters, who have strong bonds. Manuelito notes at some point that Leaphorn is like a father to her. Manuelito and Chee struggle with the attraction they feel and the steps they take to deny it – until they no longer do.
The fourth season of “Dark Winds” just concluded, and a fifth season is in the works. Credit: AMC via IMDb.
While any satisfying series finds ways to keep its characters together, a great one dares to pull them apart first. For example, Chee leaves to be a private investigator in the second season, and Manuelitto leaves to join the Border Patrol in the third, creating new dynamics and tensions among the characters.
“Dark Winds” builds Native beliefs and mysticism into the story, affecting how the characters move through the plot. The characters are enmeshed in the traditional and spiritual practices of their community. Especially effective is an early scene in which a Navajo witch menaces Manuelito and leaves her shaken. Later in the series, Chee struggles with being overshadowed by a death spirit. This exploration of Diné (Navajo) culture and spirituality adds an additional layer to the thrilling crime series, setting it apart from similar shows of this genre.
“Dark Winds” is harsh but never seems unjustifiably bitter. It’s pointed, for sure: The first season ends with “This Land is Your Land” playing over the end credits. The characters experience the realities of continued oppression faced by Indigenous people, and it never condescends or compromises. Fans will be glad to know the series has been renewed for a fifth season.
“Dark Winds” is currently streaming on AMC+ and Netflix.
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Keith Roysdon is the author of Seven Angels, a crime novel set in a small Tennessee town.
This article first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, recommendations, retrospectives, and more. Join the mailing list today to have future editions delivered straight to your inbox.
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