AMC has a brand new crime thriller series, Dark Winds, and it will certainly appeal to fans of shows like Longmire and Yellowstone. The show follows three Navajo police officers: Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito. The characters are played, respectively, by Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, and Jessica Matten. Recently, the cast of the new show sat down with PopCulture.com to talk about all things Dark Winds, including what it was like filming the intense show and how “it’s a beautiful watch.”
Notably, Dark Winds is an adaptation of the Leaphorn & Chee book series, a classic novel franchise written by late author Tony Hillerman. Speaking about the show’s source material, McClarnon shared, “I grew up being aware of them. I read some when I was in my early twenties, probably 30 years ago. I read a few of the Tony Hillerman books.” He added, “You know, they were within our culture as well. Tony wrote about the Navajo culture… I think it was ’71, was the first book. So they’ve, they’ve been around a long time. I was very aware of ’em, and George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford, Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo came to me and asked me to be a part of it. And I was extremely excited. You know, I was honored to be part of a, such a prestigious team.”
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Dark Winds was filmed around New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, including areas such as Española, Tesuque Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, the Navajo Nation, Mexican Hat, Monument Valley, and Kayenta. Commenting on the scenery, Gordon offered, “The scenery out there…it just feels like home, cause I grew up out around Grand Canyon area and just being back in that landscape and that setting just feels familiar.” He continued, “You know, it’s kind of cool to have that, you know, Jim Chi, he like leaves the reservation a long time ago and he comes back and he’s finally getting this like senses back and it’s, it’s a really beautiful thing.”
The three castmates have long been friends, and all even worked on the Discovery/Netflix series prior to Dark Winds. Addressing why she was eager to portray Sergeant Manuelito, Matten explained, “I had just come off of a show playing a tribal cop in Canada, and was a producer on that as well, too. So, a little bit of a typecast, but I don’t mind it. I love it.” She added, “I’ve known Zahn for, I think eight years. I’ve known Kiowa and Zahn for about eight years now. So, you know, I saw Zahn’s name on it. It was kind of like a no-brainer because you know, it just it’s like working with family and it was an opportunity to spend more time together.”
Finally, offering his thoughts on what viewers can expect from Dark Winds, Gordon said, “I want people to know that it there’s more than just the exterior of like, ‘Oh, this is that native series of detectives.’ We’re gonna find some mystical elements here, but also, you can explain it. It’s actually… it’s happening. People have their traditions and we have to respect people’s cultures.
He added, “And I just hope that people take away, there’s a heart to this thing. It’s a beautiful watch. These characters, they have these relationships that they go through. There’s so much loss and there’s also a lot of love that you can take from it.” In addition to McClarnon, Gordon, and Matten, the show also stars Noah Emmerich, Rainn Wilson, and Deanna Allison. Dark Winds kicks off June 12 on AMC and AMC+, with new episodes debuting weekly on Sundays until the finale on July 17.
