Today the new drama Dark Winds premieres on AMC and AMC+. The engaging 6-episode series spans many genres including noir, western, cop/family drama, bank heist, murder mystery, 1970s period piece, and more. It even has some humor mixed in. The series is cinematically shot, with some beautiful landscapes and settings. It brings together several characters from Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee book series, following three tribal police cops in the Navajo Nation as they investigate a murder, which may be related to a recent bank heist that the FBI is also looking into. Meanwhile, each of these cops has his or her own secrets/issues from the past they are trying to deal with.
While the series depicts a very specific Native American culture and experience, at the same time, the story and characters also have a very universal relatability and feel to them. I already binged through screeners of all six episodes and can’t recommend the series highly enough. The 70s setting is nice as it forces the cops to do some old school detective work, rather than rely on the internet for info, or having a cell phone on them to be able to contact one another in case of danger. There are many surprising twists and turns and reveals over the course of the six episodes. The season tells a complete story, so you don’t have to worry about being left hanging, but the series also leaves things open for more adventures with these characters (which I would happily welcome). While episodes will be released weekly, AMC+ subscribers will be able to watch episodes a week early.
AMC’s official synopsis:
Set in 1971 on a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley, “Dark Winds” follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon, “The Son,” “Westworld,” “Fargo”) of the Tribal Police as he is besieged by a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. The closer he digs to the truth, the more he exposes the wounds of his past. He is joined on this journey by his new deputy, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon, “The Red Road,” “Roswell, New Mexico”). Chee, too, has old scores to settle from his youth on the reservation. Together, the two men battle the forces of evil, each other and their own personal demons on the path to salvation. “Dark Winds” is an AMC Studios production, and will premiere June 12 on AMC and AMC+. Executive producers also include George R.R. Martin, Robert Redford, Tina Elmo, and Vince Gerardis.
Dark Winds was featured as the opening night marquee event at last weekend’s ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas. The cast and creators were on the red carpet for the event.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to speak with any of the actors, but I did get a chance to talk with executive producer/showrunner Vince Calandra and series creator Graham Roland:
