AMC’s critically acclaimed noir thriller returns on Feb. 15.

6 things we’re hoping for on *Dark Winds *season 4

AMC's critically acclaimed noir thriller returns on Feb. 15.

By Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman

Jordan Hoffman is a writer at **, mostly covering nostalgia. He has been writing about entertainment since 2007.

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February 2, 2026 10:00 a.m. ET

Sgt. Bernadette 'Bern' Manuelito (Jessica Matten), Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zach McClarnon), and Deputy Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) on 'Dark Winds'. Credit:

Michael Moriatis/AMC - Design:EW

Saddle up the horses, crack open an RC Cola, and get ready to expose a murderous conspiracy. *Dark Winds *season 4 is right around the corner and it's time to celebrate.

AMC's adaptation of Tony Hillerman's novels (of which there is no shortage, especially if you factor in the ones published by his daughter Anne Hillerman) is hard to put in a box.

Focused on three Navajo Tribal Police officers solving mysteries on their reservation, and set in the beautiful Four Corners area of the American Southwest in the 1970s, it's a cop show, it's a rich examination of Native American culture, it's a period piece, it's a family drama, it's a romance, it's an action-thriller.... Can one thing be all of those things? Somehow, Graham Roland's series — developed with the aid of producers Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin, and starring Zach McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, and Deanna Allison — makes it work.

Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, Zach McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn, and Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito in season 2 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

Another big reason why it works is the fact that the majority of the *Dark Winds* cast and production team — including writers, producers, wardrobe, and more — are Indigenous.

If you've watched the first episode, you've surely watched them all, as this is a fast-paced series impervious to any instinct to pick up the remote and hit stop. With that, here are the things we're most hoping for in the upcoming fourth season.

**Warning: This article contains spoilers for those who aren’t caught up on *Dark Winds*, plus one whopper that might be coming if the show sticks to the books. **

Chee and Manuelito, hook up already!

Kiowa Gordan as Jim Chee and Jessica Matten as Bernadette 'Bern" Manuelito on 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

For all the dizzying detective work and meaningful explorations of the Diné culture, you can't beat a good old-fashioned ship.

From the first episode of the first season, when Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) blew into the NTP station to introduce himself to Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), everyone caught the sparks between him and Leaphorn's second-in-command, Sgt. Bernadette "Bern" Manuelito (Jessica Matten).

Since that time, they've shared one smooch, got burned by a secret (it was never the right time for Chee to come clean!), projected their romantic frustrations onto an undeserving someone (no shame, Bernadette, that Ivan Muños is a handsome fella), but, more importantly, they've still *been there *for one another when the chips were down.

The big finish of season 3 sure seems to imply that they're ready to stop playing games and get serious about the romance that seems obvious to everyone else. Will season 4 finally get steamy? We sure hope so. If the series intends to hew to the trajectory of the books (though there are no guarantees!), it's only a matter of time.

Will Emma forgive Joe?

John Henry Diel as B.J. Vines and Zach McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn in season 2 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

Who are any of us to judge Joe Leaphorn? Just imagine being in his shoes: Your son was killed in an explosion thanks to a greedy man's economic sabotage, and everyone knows that smug, rich jerk B.J. Vines (John Henry Diehl) will get away scot free. What's more, he mocks your culture, inflaming a centuries-old wound. Not just that, you've got your father's voice in your head talking about the need for "Indian justice."**

Plus, it isn't like you shot him! You just took him out for a ride and had him get out of the truck and walk. (Okay, okay, it was the middle of a freezing desert and he had no shoes, you have a point.)

Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Deanna Allison as Emma Leaphorn in season 3 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

Leaphorn did not choose righteousness, and for this he and his conscience will forever suffer. But will Emma ( Deanna Allison), his wife and a physician sworn to "do no harm," accept him back into her life? The fact that she didn't rat him out at the end of season 3 suggests that she might. For Joe's sake, let's hope she will.

More of the Leaphorn-Sena bromance

A Martinez as Gordo Sena and Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn in season 2 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

The primary male relationship in *Dark Winds *is, of course, between Leaphorn and Chee. The Hillerman books are called "The Leaphorn & Chee Series" for a reason. But most of the comedy on the TV show comes from the world-weary sighs shared between two men from separate worlds who are roughly the same age.

A Martinez's Sheriff Gordo Sena doesn't show up until season 2, and, at first, we're not sure what to make of him. Few of the Diné have had good experiences with the bilagáana (white men), especially those that represent the U.S. government. But over time, we recognize that there is a great respect between the chief of police on the Rez and his Scarborough County counterpart Sena. They are both lawmen who seem to want little more than calm and stability in their communities (and in their lives), but keep getting interrupted by vast corruption scandals and dead bodies.

It's not like they are the best of pals — Leaphorn did *not *invite Sena to stick around for the A'wee Chi'deedloh ceremony (a Navajo tradition which celebrates a baby's first laugh) he is hosting — but the two men who like to zing one another know they have someone they can count on.

Classic casting surprises

Rainn Wilson as Devoted Dan on season 1 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/Stalwart Productions/AMC

By season 4, any *Dark Winds *fan knows to expect the unexpected with the supporting cast.

The first season saw Toby Emmerich (a classic "that guy!" if ever there was one) show up as the local FBI liaison (and eventual baddie) High Pockets, while *The Office* star Rainn Wilson had a fun turn as shady missionary/used car salesman Devoted Dan.

Season 2 shocked viewers across the galaxy when Jeri Ryan, *Star Trek: Voyager*'s Seven of Nine, appeared as B.J. Vines' love-and-oxygen-deprived wife.

Jeri Ryan as Rosemary Vines in season 2 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

Then season 3 introduced a bloodhound FBI detective from Washington, D.C., played by (checks notes) Jenna Elfman? Who would have seen that one coming.

Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Jenna Elfman as Sylvia Washington in season 3 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

Of course, the best blink-and-you-miss-'em appearances on the series came when the two mighty executive producers, Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin, showed up as two prisoners playing chess. (With Redford making a sly "everyone's waiting!" comment, clearly meant to mirror *A Song of Ice and Fire *fans wondering if Martin will ever finish *The Winds of Winter*.) Touchingly, this gag moment marked Redford's final film or television appearance. (Watch the scene below.)

A few of the new faces you can expect to see in season 4 include Franka Potente (*The Bourne Identity*), Chaske Spencer (*The Twilight Saga*) ,and Titus Welliver (*Bosch*).

Plenty of rock bangers

*Dark Winds *doesn't suffer from a low budget. All that gorgeous location photography in Monument Valley is the best indicator of that.

Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Deanna Allison as Emma Leaphorn in season 2 of 'Dark Winds'.

Michael Moriatis/AMC

But it isn’t just the imagery, it's the sound. The 1971 setting of the series affords it an opportunity to feature wall-to-wall classic rock bangers. The music licensing costs on this show must be huge, but it adds a nice finishing coat to the production.

The Who, the Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Charley Pride, Gregg Allman, John Lennon, David Bowie, Hot Tuna (deep cut!), Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Derek and the Dominoes (a supergroup featuring Eric Clapton and Duane Allman), plus solo tracks from David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young have all been featured on the show. We're rooting for Graham Nash in season 4!

One wild choice that must be mentioned: How did Nick Drake end up on the soundtrack? No, the song "Northern Sky" wasn't anachronistic, but this extremely British artist was not really a known quantity by many in America at the time, and those that were into him probably weren't living on the Rez. Indeed, the singer-songwriter never even visited the U.S. before his death at the age of 26. And that's what made the choice so unexpected and brilliant!

An icy cold glass bottle of RC Cola, please

RC Cola bottles.

Never in our lives have we wanted a crisp, sweet, refreshing sip of Royal Crown Cola in the hot desert as we have after binging *Dark Winds*. We're going to stock up with a case of the retro soda before the new season!******* Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Season 4 will focus on the search for a missing Navajo girl, which takes Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito from the Navajo Nation to 1970s Los Angeles in a race against the clock to save her from an obsessive killer with ties to organized crime. Watch the trailer above, and catch the season 4 premiere Sunday, Feb. 15, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+.

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