Zahn McClarnon and the ‘Dark Winds’ cast on representation, resonance and Season 4 surprises

WARNING: This story contains spoilers from Season 3 of Dark Winds.

Dark Winds is ready for its close-up. With a 100 percent Tomatometer score and multiple spotlights shining on lead actor and executive producer Zahn McClarnon, this 1970s noir series set on the Navajo Nation is garnering attention far beyond the rez.

McClarnon and the cast, including Season 3 guest star Jenna Elfman, took to the stage (and rooftop) at NeueHouse in Hollywood Monday for the AMC show’s FYC event to share what it’s like for them to work on a series that not only explores Native American life without the stereotypes of shows from generations past but also why they think the series is resonating so strongly with audiences and what’s ahead for Season 4, which has already begun shooting.

“Authenticity is very important to us,” McClarnon told Gold Derby. “The books are written by Tony Hillerman, and we as Native people are just trying to add a little different perspective, kind of recontextualize the books a little bit, and bring these characters to life — real Natives bringing these characters to life.”

McClarnon stressed that while Dark Winds isn’t a “documentary on the Navajo people,” he said it’s a show that has a largely Indigenous cast and crew in addition to its creatives.

“It's a unique kind of cultural lean,” he added, “and I think that's why people are connecting with the show.”

The Hunkpapa Lakota actor stars as Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn, who in Season 3 is navigating the effects of moral gray areas he entered during Season 2 which have landed him in the investigative crosshairs of FBI Agent Sylvia Washington (Elfman).

“I was so blown away by the writing,” Elfman told Gold Derby about her role. “And then I love acting with Zahn so much.”

Producer and director Steven Paul Judd moderated the event’s panel, which also included Jessica Matten (Bernadette Manuelito), Kiowa Gordon (Jim Chee) Deanna Allison (Emma Leaphorn) and showrunner John Wirth, and featured a musical performance from Mozart Gabriel.

For Judd, who is Kiowa and Choctaw, he said that the show’s appeal included its mix of mystery, noir and action.

“But I love being able to see two people, selfishly two Native people, talking at a dinner table,” he added during the panel. “I never got to see that growing up, so just to see it now, it's still like — I can't even believe I'm watching this. It's just so cool that I can see that.”

For Matten, who stars as a Navajo Tribal Police sergeant-turned-Border Patrol officer, Season 3 and particularly Episode 6’s focus on “intergenerational trauma” and the need for healing in Indigenous communities and beyond is what she said appealed to audiences.

“We all come from places of trauma, and sexual abuse and those topics are something that resonates worldwide, unfortunately,” the Red River Métis and Cree actress told Gold Derby. “So even though we are a Native show, I think what that episode in particular does is it sheds light on things that we as human beings in general need to heal. And I hope that, again, what is TV and film for? It's hopefully to become a mirror of the human soul.”

“This Native American — this Navajo — lens, I believe, is very intriguing,” Allison, who is Navajo, told Gold Derby. “This [show] really gets you really into it, into the surface levels, of within the sage and the dirt, into the dust, into the stars.”

Gordon, who stars as a tribal police officer, told Gold Derby that there’s “something special” about the team Dark Winds has assembled.

“It's just the collaboration that we have. It's sticking a landing that I've never been a part of before,” the Hualapai actor said. “With Zahn and [executive producers] George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford and the cast, the crew that we have behind this, it's like the A-Team of New Mexico.”

He added that “AMC having our backs on this and green-lighting this [series]” was crucial.

“Without them, we wouldn't have a show,” he said. “[Executive producer and director] Chris Eyre and Redford have been trying to get this to stick for a long time, and I think people are starting to finally take notice.”

What audiences will notice in Season 4, which is expected to air on AMC/AMC+ in 2026, is that McClarnon will be wearing yet another hat. He’s adding director to his executive producing and lead acting duties.

“I learned a lot from directing,” McClarnon told Gold Derby. “AMC liked the cut. I told the story, you know what I mean? That's the most important thing, to tell the story.”

Matten called McClarnon and his directing “amazing.”

“I think he's amazing because he's an actor himself, so he understands the language of how to speak, and honestly, Zahn is like our Uncle Zahn, our dad on set to Kiowa and I,” she said. “We're not precious about taking suggestions and advice from each other, so it was very organic and natural for Zahn to be directing this, because we do that for each other on set naturally.”

Gordon told Gold Derby that McClarnon brings the laughs on set, too.

“In true Zahn fashion, he's always giving me sh-t every day. So it was fun to have him as the authority on the picture, on the character and everything going on inside of that,” he said. “And I hope he does it again.”

As far as any hints about what’s to come in the next season, Wirth said during the panel that Season 4 will touch on topics as large as “Native relocation” or less wide-ranging, such as what the Navajo people do during an eclipse.

The upcoming season will also pick up where we left off romantically with Manuelito and Chee.

“I know the audiences really want to see more of that relationship dynamic, and that's something we definitely are showing,” Matten said.

“We're trying to have a go at it,” Gordon told Gold Derby about the two characters’ relationship. “I'm trying to convince her to come back to the force, and she's taking some time off after coming back from the border. So it gets a little hot and heavy with us in the first couple episodes.”