A running joke among Westeros junkies is how George R.R. Martin has missed so many self-imposed The Winds Of Winter writing deadlines that he might actually fear finishing the A Song Of Fire And Ice saga. It’s easy to see why the prolific author might feel intimidated by the prospect. The eighth Game of Thrones season churned up animosity, and a prequel series is stressing GRRM out. In contrast, the critically acclaimed Dark Winds has been growing its audience alongside several other AMC shows that recently landed on Netflix, and now, this genre mash-up — a mix of noir crime drama/supernatural thriller/Western — is staring down a third season.
The series is co-executive produced by Martin, Robert Redford, and Anne Hillerman (sister and continuing author of Hillerman-universe books). Although supernatural and witchy happenings do surface in this show, zero dragons will be found within 27,000 or so square miles of arid wilderness. There, more crime shall unfold through the guiding hand of series creator Graham Roland (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) and showrunner John Wirth (Hell On Wheels). And Martin, tellingly, has displayed no mixed feelings about Dark Winds. He is excited about the increased episode count for the third season and calls it a “damn fine show.” Let’s talk about what will come for the hard-boiled 1970s Navajo Nation law enforcement officers:
Plot
The third season of AMC’s Dark Winds is reversing the shorter season trend (that has been upsetting streaming viewers on other platforms) with an eight-episode season, which begins six months following the second season finale. This year, Sergeant Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) will be entrenched in her new Border Patrol duties about 500 miles away from where Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zac McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) remain to handle every crime from robberies to homicides, and if something supernatural happens, then they must confront those horrors, too.
Viewers will recall that the previous few seasons adapted Tony Hillerman’s The Listening Woman and People of Darkness with a few dozen novels to provide fuel for the continuing series. Already, Leaphorn and Chee have dug into a double murder that was linked to a mine explosion that killed Leaphorn’s son. He kept searching for answers, and it’s no wonder that the dude looks absolutely exhausted in this new still.
According to the AMC synopsis, the third 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.”
This description suggests that the third season is adapting Hillerman’s The Sinister Pig novel with a new host of characters described in the below section.
Cast
Returning cast members include Zac McClarnon as Lt. Joe Leaphorn (give this dude a nap, please), Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, and Jessica Matten as Sgt. Bernadette Manuelito. New characters will include FBI Special Agent Sylvia Washington (Jenna Elfman), Budge (Raoul Max Trujillo), Tom Spenser (Bruce Greenwood), and Dr. Reynolds (Christopher Heyerdahl). Working alongside Manuelito will be Border Patrol agents portrayed by Alex Meraz, Tonantzin Carmelo, and Terry Serpico.
Release Date
The third season will premiere on AMC and AMC+ on March 9 with the first of eight episodes. This might seem like a too-long wait, but hey, January and February are looking pretty crowded on streaming release dates, and a slightly later date will encourage Dark Winds savoring upon arrival.
Trailer
This teaser trailer previews Sgt. Manuelito’s Border Patrol duties:
