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Dark Winds

★ 7.7 35K votes 2022–present 4 seasons · 28 episodes Returning Series AMC
AtmosphericMood and place thick enough to touch.This show: 9/10Detective mysteryCrime-solving from the investigator's side of the table.This show: 8/10Slow burnDeliberate pacing where the payoffs are earned over long stretches.This show: 7/10Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 7/10Dark toneShadowy mood and subject matter, a shade short of outright bleak.This show: 7/10
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Starring
Zahn McClarnonKiowa GordonJessica MattenDeanna AllisonA MartinezNatalie Benally
Written by
Graham Roland
Starring
Zahn McClarnonKiowa GordonJessica MattenDeanna AllisonA MartinezNatalie Benally
Written by
Graham Roland
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
05001k2k2k

Dark Winds Episode Ratings Heatmap

AvgE1E2E3E4E5E6E7E8
S17.87.87.87.78.08.07.8
S28.08.07.98.08.07.88.2
S37.78.07.97.87.97.86.58.07.9
S47.88.07.97.67.67.97.87.77.6

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About

"A noir procedural steeped in Navajo land and history"

Set in the 1970s Navajo Nation, this crime drama follows tribal police officers investigating a brutal double murder that pulls them into a web of corruption, old grudges, and unsettling supernatural undertones. It's a slow-burn neo-western noir built on mood: windswept desert vistas, quiet dread, and a strong sense of place rarely seen on American TV. The pace favors atmosphere and character over twists, carried by grounded performances and a genuine cultural specificity. It rewards patience more than adrenaline, feeling closer to literary crime fiction than procedural TV.

Watch it for

the lived-in setting and lead performance anchoring a genuinely distinct crime noir.

Maybe skip if

you want fast-paced procedurals rather than slow, atmospheric mystery.

Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.

All Seasons

Season 12022
7.89K64h 30m
Leaphorn and Chee, two Navajo police officers in the 1970s Southwest, are forced to challenge their own spiritual beliefs when they search for clues in a double murder case.
Season 22023
8.06K64h 38m
Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee find themselves in the high desert of Navajo Country chasing a killer who's turned his sights on them to protect a secret that rips open old wounds and challenges Leaphorn's moral and professional code. With the help of Sgt. Manuelito and Valencia County Sheriff Gordo Sena, Leaphorn and Chee must thwart their would-be assassin and restore balance not only to their own lives but to the reservation that depends on them.
Season 32025
7.77K86h 16m
Six months after the events of Season 2, Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito attempts to settle into her new life 500 miles from home with the Border Patrol, but stumbles across a conspiracy involving human and drug smuggling with far-reaching implications.
Season 42026
7.84K86h 14m
The fourth season focuses on the search for a missing Navajo girl, which takes Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito from the safety of Navajo Nation to the gritty terrain of 1970s Los Angeles in a race against the clock to save her from an obsessive killer with ties to organized crime.

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Zahn McClarnon Joe Leaphorn
Kiowa Gordon Jim Chee
Jessica Matten Bernadette Manuelito
Deanna Allison Emma Leaphorn
A Martinez Sheriff Gordo Sena
Natalie Benally Natalie Bluehouse, Dispatch Operator
Andersen Kee Officer Harold Bigman
Wade Adakai Officer Gary Felix
Elva Guerra Sally Growing Thunder
DezBaa' Helen Atcitty

Crew

Graham Roland

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