Dark Winds takes the Navajo detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee out of the pages of Tony Hillerman’s novels and puts them on AMC for five seasons. The series follows the two officers as they chase a grisly double murder through the 1970s Southwest, forcing them to test their spiritual beliefs and face the damage of their pasts. It is a slow-burning, atmospheric crime drama built around character and landscape, and it mostly earns its reputation.
Trailer, via amc+.
Leaphorn and Chee Carry the Weight
Zahn McClarnon plays Lt. Joe Leaphorn, the older, wiser investigator who has spent years on the force. Kiowa Gordon plays Jim Chee, the younger officer still finding his footing. Together they form the core of the show, and their partnership is the engine that drives every episode.
The show leans on their relationship to carry its emotional weight. Chee struggles with his identity and his faith, while Leaphorn serves as the steady hand who guides him through it. Their conversations about Navajo traditions and modern policing are the best writing in the series, and the actors deliver them with quiet conviction.
Jessica Matten rounds out the trio as Bernadette Manuelito, a fellow officer who adds a fresh perspective to the cases they investigate. She grounds the show’s mystery in human stakes, and her scenes with the two leads feel natural rather than forced.
The Case That Runs Through All Five Seasons
The central murder case spans the entire series, from the first episode to the final one. It sends Leaphorn and Chee into a web of corruption, family secrets and hidden history. The show takes its time unraveling it, often spending whole episodes on a single clue or a single conversation.
That pacing will frustrate some viewers. Dark Winds is not a show built for quick thrills. It is built for long, deliberate investigation, and the payoff arrives late enough that patience becomes a requirement.
The show also uses its setting as a character. The desert, the mountains, the reservations — all of it feels lived-in and specific. The production design draws on Hillerman’s descriptions, and the result is a world that feels distinct from any other crime series on television.
The Supporting Cast Keeps Expanding
The series has brought in a steady stream of guest actors over its run, and the cast announcements keep coming. Rainn Wilson, Titus Welliver, Franka Potente, Paola Núñez and Martin Sensmeier all joined the show in various capacities across its five seasons. Each new arrival brings fresh energy to the cases at hand.
Some of these additions work better than others. The show has a habit of introducing a new suspect or a new witness only to drop them before the season ends, which leaves the audience feeling like they have invested time in a character who never mattered.
The show also keeps returning to its established players. Emma Leaphorn, played by Deanna Allison, appears regularly across the seasons, and her presence adds texture to Leaphorn’s personal life. Isabel DeRoy-Olson and Luke Barnett appear as recurring figures, giving the show a sense of continuity even as its main cases change.
What Works Best in Dark Winds
- The performances of McClarnon and Gordon, which ground the show in genuine feeling.
- The writing around Navajo culture and tradition, which avoids easy stereotypes.
- The use of setting, which makes the Southwest feel like a character.
- The slow reveal of the murder case, which rewards attention over speed.
What does not work as well is the show’s tendency to stretch its cases thin. Some episodes feel like filler, and the show’s refusal to resolve its mysteries quickly can become frustrating. The show also sometimes leans on flashbacks and exposition-heavy scenes that slow down the momentum.
A Final Word on the Series
Dark Winds is a thoughtful, well-made crime drama that respects its source material and its audience. It is at its best when it focuses on Leaphorn and Chee, and at its weakest when it loses sight of them.
The show is also notable as Robert Redford’s final project. He served as executive producer and appeared in a cameo in the 2025 episode, marking the end of his career behind the scenes and his final on-screen appearance. That context adds weight to the series’ final season, though it does not define it.
The show’s fifth season is set to premiere in 2027, and the creators will need to decide how to close out the story they have built. For now, the series stands as a solid entry in the crime genre, one that rewards patience and offers a distinctive vision of Native American life on screen.
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