‘Dark Winds Renewed for Season 4 at AMC

“Dark Winds” has been renewed for a fourth season at AMC. The news comes ahead of the March 9 premiere of Season 3.

The series is set in the ’70s and stars Zahn McClarnon as Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn who works with officers Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) to solve the mysteries behind violent crimes on their reservation. Season 3 will pick up six months after the events of Season 2 and follow Leaphorn and Chee as they investigate two boys’ disappearance with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground as evidence while Manuelito stumbles across a human and drug smuggling conspiracy while attempting to settle into her new life as part of Border Patrol, 500 miles from home.

McClarnon will make his directorial debut during Season 4, which will air in 2026.

Graham Roland is the creator of “Dark Winds,” which is based on Tony Hillerman’s “Leaphorn & Chee” books. John Wirth serves as showrunner. Executive producers include Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo, Jim Chory, Vince Gerardis and Anne Hillerman.

“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 4, and I’m excited to make my directorial debut on a show that means so much to me,” said McClarnon. “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.”

“Kristin Dolan, Dan McDermott and everyone at AMC Networks have been so supportive of our little show,” said Wirth. “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.”