AMC's DARK WINDS Renewed for Fourth Season Ahead of Season Three Premiere

In advance of the series’ upcoming Season 3 premiere, AMC Networks has announced that it has renewed the critically acclaimed and popular noir drama Dark Winds for a fourth season. The expanded, eight-episode, third season premieres March 9 on AMC and AMC+. 

Season 4 of Dark Winds, which will begin filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico in March, will also consist of eight, hour-long episodes. The new season will also see the directorial debut of series’ star and executive producer, Zahn McClarnon (The Son, Westworld, Fargo), and will debut exclusively on AMC and AMC+ in 2026. 

“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 executive producer and star Zahn 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."

Said executive producer and showrunner John Wirth (Hell on Wheels, Hap and Leonard): “Kristin Dolan, Dan McDermott, and everyone at AMC Networks have been so supportive of our little show. 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.”

Starring McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon (The Red Road, Roswell, New Mexico), Jessica Matten (Rez Ball, Tribal, Burden of Truth) and Deanna Allison (Accused, Edge of America), Dark Winds follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon), Jim Chee (Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Matten) of  the Navajo Tribal Police solving mysteries on their reservation as it is besieged by increasingly violent crimes in the 1970s. Seasons 1 and 2, which have received perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes ratings, garnered immense popularity as the series soared onto Netflix’s Top 10 Chart and maintained its position over several weeks as a part of the AMC Collection which launched on Netflix in August 2024. Dark Winds Season 2 was also a top 10 cable drama for the 2023 broadcast season.

The series’ gripping third season, featuring eight episodes, picks up six months after the events of Season 2 and follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Gordon) as they investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito (Matten) 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.

In the week leading up to the Season 3 premiere, from Monday, March 3 through Friday, March 7, AMC will feature catch-up airings of the first two seasons at midnight every night as part of a “Dark Winds After Dark” programming event. Viewers can catch up on the first two seasons of Dark Winds anytime on AMC+ and via the AMC Collection on Netflix. Additionally, the Season 3 premiere will debut at 9PM on Sunday, March 9 as a three-network roadblock across AMC, BBC AMERICA and SundanceTV, in addition to streaming on AMC+.

Each season also sees a prominent roster of guest stars, which for Season 3 includes Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg, Fear the Walking Dead) as FBI Special Agent Sylvia Washington, Bruce Greenwood (The Fall of the House of Usher, The Resident) as Tom Spenser, Raoul Max Trujillo (Mayans M.C., Blue Beetle) as Budge, Tonantzin Carmelo (La Brea, The English) as Border Patrol Agent Eleanda Garza, Alex Meraz (The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Walking Dead) as Border Patrol Agent Ivan Muños, Terry Serpico (Law & Order SVU, Yellowstone) as Border Patrol Senior Chief Ed Henry, Derek Hinkey (American Primeval, Americana) as Shorty Bowlegs, Phil Burke (Hell on Wheels, Rabbit Hole) as Michael Halsey, and Christopher Heyerdahl (Under the Banner of Heaven, Hell on Wheels) as Dr Reynolds. This season also sees the return of guest star A Martinez (Longmire, Days of Our Lives) as Scarborough Police Department Acting Chief Gordo Sena and Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard, Bosch) as Rosemary Vines.

Based on the iconic Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds is created by Graham Roland (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Returned, Almost Human, Fringe). John Wirth (Hell on Wheels, Hap and Leonard) serves as showrunner. The series is executive produced by Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Chris Eyre, Tina Elmo, Jim Chory, Vince Gerardis and Anne Hillerman.

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