George R.R. Martin recently admitted that The Winds of Winter might never be completed within the overarching A Song Of Fire And Ice saga. Yet in the case of Dark Winds, GRRM‘s endless distraction mode is more than fine.
The acclaimed AMC series’ arrival on Netflix sent the crime drama/supernatural thriller/Western series up the streaming charts, and the third season is nearly upon us. Series creator Graham Roland and showrunner John Wirth are on tap, and as executive producers, GRRM and Robert Redford have been working alongside Anne Hillerman (who, as Tony Hillerman’s sister, has continued the book series). No dragons are found in Dark Winds, but fearsome entities have been part of the ride, and that vibe will continue, so let’s get down to business on what to expect in the third season.
Trailers
AMC provided a full trailer and a teaser with Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) coming to terms with leaving B.J. Vines (John Diehl) to die after learning the truth about Leaphorn’s son’s death. He refers to his childhood in this teaser, too: “We were taught that the monsters walked the Earth. When you kill a man, he’s bound to you. I’ve accepted it. And I am prepared to go on living with it, every day.” A monstrous silhouette appears, Leaphorn gets spooked in the desert, and there’s a peek at Sgt. Manuelito (Jessica Matten) in her new Border Patrol duties:
This full trailer is an extended look at the “monsters” theme while revealing Jenna Elfman’s FBI agent and the new mystery of two missing children who Leaphorn believes likely ran into something supernatural.
Plot
Dark Winds will continue to adapt Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee novels that follow 1970s Navaho Nation law enforcement officers. As viewers will recall, Leaphorn was still reeling from his son’s death during the second season, and he took matters into his own hands for some form of closure by leaving Vines for dead, and there will be no rest for the weary in the third season. Not only does the above teaser suggest that Leaphorn is, in some shape or form, haunted by what he’s done, but 27,000 or so square miles of arid wilderness continues to yield horrors for Leaphorn and Chee, and Sgt. Manuelito is off to her new life, 500 miles away near the U.S.-Mexico border.
AMC’s season description suggests that the series will dive right into Hillerman’s The Sinister Pig novel. As such, the season “follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as they investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Sergeant. Bernadette Manuelito attempts to settle into her new life … but stumbles across a conspiracy involving human and drug smuggling with far-reaching implications.”
Notably, this season has upped the seasonal episode count from six to eight, and GRRM couldn’t be more pleased. He further urged his readers to investigate this “damn fine show,” in which Leaphorn and Chee are responsible for handling every crime from robberies to homicides that occurs in their neck of the arid wilderness. As the first two seasons have revealed, even a double murder can turn into a very personal investigation on this show.
Cast
New third season character include Budge (Raoul Max Trujillo), Special Agent Sylvia Washington (Jenna Elfman), Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl), and Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood). Additionally Border Patrol agents roles were picked up by Terry Serpico, Alex Meraz, and Tonantzin Carmelo.
The core trio will also be back. That includes Zac McClarnon (as Lt. Joe Leaphorn), Kiowa Gordon (as Jim Chee), and Jessica Matten (as Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito).
Release Date
Dark Winds returns to AMC and AMC+ on March 9. This season will run for eight weekly episodes.
More Footage
This week, AMC released the season’s first five minutes: