There is no shortage of great detective series out there to watch, but one of the best on TV today has flown mostly under the radar. Dark Winds, an adaptation of Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee books, wrapped up its fourth season not long ago, and most people who watch it end up raving about it.
The problem is that not enough people watch it. But with 100% fresh ratings on Rotten Tomatoes across all four of its seasons, it’s finding more and more fans as it goes along.
Dark Winds is a tightly written mystery show
The cast is a delight
The first season of Dark Winds introduces us to Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), a Navajo Nation police officer working in the American southwest in the 1970s. He teams up with Navajo police sergeant Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) and young FBI agent Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) to investigate a double murder and the robbery of an armored truck. The case builds into something bigger by the end of the season, and the characters end it in a different place than they started. By the end of Season 1, for instance, Jim Chee chooses the leave the FBI and become a private investigator on the reservation, which sets up future developments down the line.
Season 2 sees Leaphorn investigating a series of crimes linked to an oil well explosion that also claimed the life of his son some years past, and Season 3 finds him and Chee tracking a killer while Barnadette deals with a drug and human trafficking ring. The plot of each season is discrete, but the characters remember everything that happened. So while you can watch any season and understand what’s going on, you’ll get the most out of the show if you start from the beginning.
That brings us to the most recent season, where the central trio look into the case of a 16-year-old runaway as well as chase a women we’re introduced to when she walks into a cafe and shoots down almost everyone there. Meanwhile, Leaphorn deals with life alone after his wife, who is unable to deal with Leaphorn’s obsession with his job, leaves him at the end of Season 3.
But as well-crafted as these stories are, Dark Winds is less about what happens and more about how it’s all depicted.
Dark Winds is the most atmospheric detective show in history
With an assist from a couple of story-telling icons
Dark Winds isn’t just concerned with the plot. It’s also hugely atmospheric. The show is filmed around Santa Fe, New Mexico, and takes full advantage of the haunting desert landscape of the American southwest. The show can almost feel surreal sometimes, especially when it integrates visions, dreams, and Navajo folklore into its aesthetic. This can tip into extremely effective horror imagery, which is used to convey how characters like Joe Leaphorn deal with the guilt they’ve been dragging around for years.
As Joe Leaphorn, Zahn McClarnon has been universally praised. He brings a stillness to the character of Leaphorn, but his eyes dance with curiosity. Leaphorn is smart, steady, and empathetic, but dragged down by regrets. McClarnon can convey the depths of the character with little more than a world-weary look, and still find time to crack wise and to get the blood pumping in a shootout scene. He’s never less than completely convincing in the role, which should have earned him an Emmy nomination by now. Jessica Matten and Kiowa Gordon are also excellent as Bernadette and Jim, and become even better as the show goes on, but McClarnon is the standout.
Overall, Dark Winds feels a little slower and weightier than a typical detective series. It has a literary quality that make sense when you learn that A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, a man who isn’t afraid to give his opinions about TV, is one of the producers. The late Robert Redford, a screen icon of the 1970s, is also on the producing team. Dark Winds feels a bit like a show out of time, in the best way.
The critics don’t lie: Dark Winds is fantastic
And there’s more on the way
With the show’s Rotten Tomatoes scores as high as they are, it’s obvious that most critics agree that Dark Winds is something special and well on its way to becoming a modern classic. Scores from normal viewers aren’t quite as enthusiastic, but still very solid. Dark Winds has maintained a very high standing with viewers and critics alike throughout all four of its seasons so far.
The fifth season of Dark Winds is already in production. When it comes out, maybe the show can finally get the huge audience it deserves. Dark Winds deserves better than to become another great detective series that never quite went mainstream.
This fantastic detective series has quietly become the biggest show on Netflix
Please ignore the hilarious name.
Where to stream Dark Winds
All four seasons of Dark Winds are available to watch now on AMC+. However, that’s not a streaming service many people have, so you’ll be happy to learn that the first three seasons can also be streamed on Netflix. The fourth season will probably show up on Netflix as well, sooner or later, but if you want to stay completely current with the series, you’ll have to go a little further out of your way. That’s annoying, but worth it for a show as good as this.
- Release Date
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June 12, 2022
- Network
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AMC
- Showrunner
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John Wirth, Vince Calandra
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Zahn McClarnon
Lt. Joe Leaphorn
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Jessica Matten
Bernadette Manuelito
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Deanna Allison
Emma Leaphorn
