Dark Winds stars Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon and Jessica Matten. The new season is scheduled to start in early 2025, a marked shift from the summer dates of the first two seasons, but understandable given the writers' and actors' strikes.
The renewal comes after Dark Winds made its debut on Warner Bros.' Max service. Discovery as part of a two-month pop-up.
The first season of the series, which is produced by AMC Studios, drew 2.2 million viewers on AMC ahead of its June 2022 launch in Live+3 ratings. The company said the second season averaged 1.7 million viewers per week on Live+3, according to Nielsen, and saw "significant" ratings and acquisition gains over season one on AMC+.
In the second season, Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon), reunites with Jim Chee (Gordon), his former deputy turned private eye, when their separate cases bring them together in pursuit of the same suspect. They find themselves in the high desert of Navajo Country chasing a killer who’s turned his sights on them to protect a secret that rips open old wounds and challenges Leaphorn’s moral and professional code. With the help of Sgt. Manuelito (Matten) and Valencia County Sheriff Gordo Sena, Leaphorn and Chee must thwart their would-be assassin and restore balance not only to their own lives, but to the reservation that depends on them.
Deanna Allison and Elva Guerra also star with guest stars including Jeri Ryan, Nicholas Logan, A Martinez and Joseph Runningfox.
Dark Winds is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman. The series was created by Graham Roland with John Wirth serving as showrunner. Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Anne Hillerman, Chris Eyre, Vince Gerardis and Tina Elmo exec produce. More than 90 percent of the production team on both sides of the camera for season two were Indigenous.
“We started this journey with very high hopes for this series, given the remarkable source material and extraordinary creative team behind it, and it has delivered on every level,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “From the beloved novels, to an incredibly collaborative producing team that includes Robert Redford, George R. R. Martin, showrunner John Wirth and star Zahn McClarnon, to the entire cast and crew, there is so much storytelling yet to come in this universe. Thanks to the fans for embracing this series and the critics for celebrating and shining a light on it.”
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