Zahn McClarnon and Deanna Allison Will Be Back in Action for Dark Winds Season 3
First, the great news: Dark Winds, the acclaimed neo-Western drama starring C&I reader favorite Zahn McClarnon as Navajo Country lawman Lt. Joe Leaphorn, has been renewed for a third season by AMC. The not-so-great news? According to the showbiz trade paper Variety, the series — which wrapped up its second season Sept. 3 — is not expected to return until early 2025, because of production delays tied to ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Based on the popular Leaphorn and Chee novels by the late Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds also stars Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, Deanna Allison (pictured above with McClarnon) and Elva Guerra. Among the Season 2 guest stars: Jeri Ryan, Nicholas Logan, A Martinez and Joseph Runningfox.
“We started this journey with very high hopes for this series, given the remarkable source material and extraordinary creative team behind it,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, “and it has delivered on every level. 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.”
Variety reports that Season 2 of Dark Winds averaged 1.7 million viewers per episode in the Nielsen Live+3 ratings. In addition to airing on AMC and AMC+, the series currently is streaming on Max as part of a “programming pop-up” that will showcase several AMC Networks series through Oct. 31.
The Dark Winds tv series was created by Graham Roland, who serves as executive producer along with series showrunner (and Hell on Wheels veteran) John Wirth, Zahn McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Anne Hillerman, Chris Eyre, Vince Gerardis, and Tina Elmo. More than 90 percent of the production team on both sides of the camera for Season 2 were Indigenous.
Are you as excited as we are about Dark Winds Season 3? Keep checking back for the latest news in Western entertainment including premiere date updates, spotlights on your favorite TV show actors, and more.
