TVDRAMA
AMC Networks has greenlit a fourth season of Dark Winds ahead of the series’ third season premiere on March 9.
Season four, set to begin filming in March, will consist of eight hour-long episodes. It will see the directorial debut of series star and executive producer Zahn McClarnon (The Son, Westworld, Fargo).
Dark Winds centers on members of the Navajo Tribal Police as they solve mysteries on their reservation as it is besieged by increasingly violent crimes in the 1970s. Season three picks up six months after the events of season two and follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as they investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito attempts to settle into her new life 500 miles from home with the Border Patrol but stumbles across a conspiracy involving human and drug smuggling.
The series’ cast includes McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon (The Red Road, Roswell, New Mexico), Jessica Matten (Rez Ball, Tribal, Burden of Truth) and Deanna Allison (Accused, Edge of America).
Each season features a roster of guest stars, and those making appearances in the third are Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg, Fear the Walking Dead), Bruce Greenwood (The Fall of the House of Usher, The Resident), Raoul Max Trujillo (Mayans M.C., Blue Beetle), Tonantzin Carmelo (La Brea, The English), Alex Meraz (The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Walking Dead), Terry Serpico (Law & Order SVU, Yellowstone), Derek Hinkey (American Primeval, Americana), Phil Burke (Hell on Wheels, Rabbit Hole) and Christopher Heyerdahl (Under the Banner of Heaven, Hell on Wheels). A Martinez (Longmire, Days of Our Lives) and Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard, Bosch) will return as guest stars.
Dark Winds is created by Graham Roland (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Returned, Almost Human, Fringe), based on the Leaphorn & Chee books by Tony Hillerman. John Wirth (Hell on Wheels, Hap and Leonard) serves as showrunner. Executive producers are Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo, Jim Chory, Vince Gerardis and Anne Hillerman.
Season three debuts exclusively on AMC and AMC+ on March 9. Season four will premiere in 2026.
“When we greenlit the first season of Dark Winds, we saw the potential for an authentic and long-running franchise that could live alongside the worlds we were building around The Walking Dead and Anne Rice,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “That is exactly what this cast and creative team delivered, and the fans have responded. It starts with Tony Hillerman’s unforgettable novels, cared for and attended to by a producing team that includes the likes of Robert Redford, George R. R. Martin, Chris Eyre and our showrunner John Wirth, and—at the center of everything—the truly extraordinary Zahn McClarnon and the entire cast. Fans have embraced this series on AMC/AMC+ and made it a top 10 show on Netflix for a solid month last fall. There is so much great storytelling yet to come in these expanded third and fourth seasons.”
“I’m looking forward to exploring and inhabiting the character of Joe Leaphorn once again in season four, and I’m excited to make my directorial debut on a show that means so much to me,” McClarnon said. “I’d like to send my gratitude and appreciation to Kristin Dolan, Dan McDermott and all of the hard-working folks at AMC Networks for their support and commitment to Dark Winds. And, of course, I’m most thrilled to be spending time with this wonderful cast and crew whom I have grown to love.”
Wirth added, “Kristin Dolan, Dan McDermott and everyone at AMC Networks have been so supportive of our little show. I know I speak for our superlative writers, extraordinary cast and dedicated crew when I say we are excited and energized by the opportunity to continue exploring and expanding the world of Dark Winds in a fourth season.”
