The first two seasons of Dark Winds introduced audiences to life on a Navajo reservation where cultures collide. Law enforcement, family loyalties, and diverse belief systems interact to make Dark Winds a multifaceted and suspenseful watch.

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Dark Winds

Release Date
June 12, 2022

Network
AMC
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Lt. Joe Leaphorn

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Kiowa Gordon

Jim Chee

Cast Placeholder Image
Jessica Matten

Bernadette Manuelito

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Deanna Allison

Emma Leaphorn

Creator(s)
Graham Roland
The Main Characters in ‘Dark Winds’ Highlight Layers of Cultural Tension
Leaphorn’s loyalties to the Navajo nation, land, and traditions contrast with the struggle Chee feels attempting to navigate his obligations to federal law enforcement and his heritage. Chee and Navajo tribal police sergeant Bernedette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) have a professional relationship that similarly emphasizes the former’s struggles. Gordon talked about Jim Chee and his inner strife in 2022:

“I think it was hard for him at first because he had left. There were these traumatic things that happened in his past and he had to get out of Dodge, and he assimilated into white society. Then he goes to a very prestigious college. That prevents him from going to Vietnam, and he gets to hone his mentality there and gain these skills that get him recruited by the FBI. He has the ambition to go as far as he can with that…. I think going back home probably opens up all these old wounds… returning to the res… He’s just shoehorned in there because he’s Navajo, and they need that.”

While all of this unfolds, a mysterious helicopter crash, the discovery of mutilated bodies, and a money-laundering scheme play out through the rest of the first season. Season 2 of Dark Winds focuses on a cult conspiracy, with Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito fighting to protect the Navajo way of life.

One additional factor in how well the chemistry and dynamics work between the three main characters is that Dark Winds isn’t the first time they had worked together. As McClarnon explained in 2023,

An edited image of Dark Winds with Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon
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‘Dark Winds’ Is a Fascinating Glimpse Into Native American Traditions and Practices
Emma Leaphorn (Deanna Allison) is another fascinating character in Dark Winds who straddles various traditions and practices. As a nurse, Emma sees how Native Americans are treated and the types of resources available to them while simultaneously functioning within that inherently flawed system. She works at a hospital but is also present for Native American healing and mourning rituals that, on the surface, seem to fly in the face of modern medicine.

Emma is representative of the duality that exists in all of Dark Winds’ characters. At various points during Dark Winds, Native American rituals like cleansing ceremonies to banish dark energy, vision quests, and the practices of medicine men celebrate Navajo beliefs. Collectively, these expose audiences to a spirituality that is often not seen in popular culture.

“It truly took a village. About 95% of the “Dark Winds” cast is Indigenous as is the majority of the production team, including the writers, producers, props team, stunts team, wardrobe and more. Keeping accuracy across the series was important to all of us.”

Language, clothing, and hairstyles were among the aspects of the show that the cast and crew of Dark Winds worked to get right.

Zahn McClarnon Dark Winds
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‘Dark Winds’ Highlights the Breadth of Talent in the Cast
There is no paucity of powerful performances on Dark Winds. Rainn Wilson was stellar as the used car salesman “Devoted Dan,” while Jeri Ryan was a mysterious force that brought a dark energy to the show. Deanna Allison found a character that was refreshing in Emma Leaphorn because she was a “combination of being traditional and educated.”

“There’s a gravitas, man… Zahn has this feel to him, based on his own experience of being a Native person and his decades of film and television work.”

There’s nothing McClarnon can’t do on Dark Winds as Alan Sepinwall explained in Rolling Stone:

“He is whatever a given moment needs: charismatic, dangerous, vulnerable, stoic, even funny.”

There are so many reasons to watch Dark Winds but anyone who’s seen any of McClarnon’s earlier work will not be disappointed