AMC is heading into more Dark Winds.
The cable network has renewed the crime drama for a third season, coming a couple of weeks after Season 2 finished its run.
The new season is planned to premiere in early 2025, a noticeable shift from the summer premiere of its first two runs, but understandable given the writers and actors strikes.
It comes after Dark Winds made its debut on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max service as part of a two-month pop-up.
Dark Winds stars Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon and Jessica Matten.
The first season of the series, which is produced by AMC Studios, drew 2.2M viewers on AMC for its June 2022 launch in Live+3 ratings. The company said that the second season averaged 1.7M viewers each week in Live+3, per Nielsen and saw “significant” viewership and acquisition gains from season one on AMC+.
In the second season, Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon), reunites with Jim Chee (Gordon), his former deputy turned private eye, when their separate cases bring them together in pursuit of the same suspect. They 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 (Matten) 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.
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Deanna Allison and Elva Guerra also star with guest stars including Jeri Ryan, Nicholas Logan, A Martinez and Joseph Runningfox.
Dark Winds is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman. The series was created by Graham Roland with John Wirth serving as showrunner. Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Anne Hillerman, Chris Eyre, Vince Gerardis and Tina Elmo exec produce. More than 90 percent of the production team on both sides of the camera for season two were Indigenous.
“We started this journey with very high hopes for this series, given the remarkable source material and extraordinary creative team behind it, and it has delivered on every level,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “From the beloved novels, to an incredibly collaborative producing team that includes Robert Redford, George R. R. Martin, showrunner John Wirth and star Zahn McClarnon, to the entire cast and crew, there is so much storytelling yet to come in this universe. Thanks to the fans for embracing this series and the critics for celebrating and shining a light on it.”
