AMC Networks is betting their next big series onDark Winds, a Western noir thriller from executive producersGeorge R. R. MartinandRobert Redford, alongside additional producersTina ElmoandVince Gerardis. The detective series follows two Navajo police officers in 1971 as they search for the perpetrators of multiple, yet seemingly disconnected crimes. The series will be created and executive produced byGraham Roland, the creative behind projects likeTom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,The Returned,Almost HumanandFringe.Vince Calandrawill serve as the showrunner and executive producer, andChris Eyrewill direct the pilot and also executive produce.
Dark Windsis based on the long-runningLeaphorn & Cheebook series byTony Hillerman, and follows two Navajo police officers in the 1970s in the Southwest, as they struggle to find the criminals behind a grisly double murder case that forces them to uncover and explore their own trauma and spiritual beliefs. The six-episode series will starKiowa GordonandZahn McClarnon, with McClarnon also serving as an executive producer. I’m thrilled to see McClarnon getting a starring role, as his turns in shows likeWestworldandFargohave proven that the actor can successfully carry a big project.
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This is a huge deal for AMC and the future of television production as well, especially sinceDan McDermott,president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, said that the writers' room is staffed entirely by Native American writers, filmed largely in and around Native American lands, and Navajo Nation PresidentJonathan Nezgave his full approval of the series.
In an official statement, McClarnon said, “I am honored to be asked to star as the lead in this innovative series for AMC and to executive produce. To have the support and to be a part of a team which is led by two iconic visionaries as George R. R. Martin and Robert Redford is something to which I’ve always aspired. I believe as Indigenous people we are in a new era of progress in TV and film representation.”
With an already very prolific career, McClarnon does have some additional interesting projects in the works, including as a series regular in Marvel’sHawkeyenew series. He was also cast in a new FX comedy fromTaika WaititicalledReservation Dogs, which is about four Native American teenagers growing up on a reservation in eastern Oklahoma. But if you need some McClarnon earlier than these series can provide, he was last seen in a stunningly underrated National Geographic series calledBarkskins, which is based onAnnie Proulx’s epic novel.
Dark Windswill premiere on AMC+ and AMC in 2022.
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