AMC's Dark Winds

Renewed for Season 3

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Dark Winds, the popular television series based on characters and stories my father and I created, will return for season three in 2025. The show premiered on AMC in June 2022 and renewed for a second season in 2023. 

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The first two seasons were inspired by Tony Hillerman’s Listening Woman and People of Darkness, and used my interpretation of Bernadette Manuelito as a strong and competent crime fighter. The writers, directors and actors added their own interesting twists, including setting the stories in the 1970s.

 

"Monster Hunter," the very first episode of the inaugural season was honored with the Wrangler Award for the Best Television Drama from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma. The show has also been honored with Golden Globes and Emmy awards and is among the nominees for an Edgar for screeenplay writing. (We'll know on May 1!)

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I enjoy watching the actors bring these characters to life. The entire cast is terrific! Jessica Matten, the actress who plays Bernadette, graciously thanked me for my having expanded Bernie's character and role in my novels. Here's a great article about Jessica.

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Executive producer Graham Roland assembled a fine team of indigenous scriptwriters to develop the plots and dialog for the show. (I had nothing to do with the scripts or the casting.) 

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I especially like three things about the first seasons of Dark Winds.

• The episodes capture New Mexico and on the Navajo Nation as real settings. The scenery is spectacular.

• The series makes excellent use of native talent, both as the cast and off screen.

• The show captures the essence of its central characters in a way that makes me proud. I know my Dad would be happy, too.

 

In developing their scripts, Dark Winds took some interesting detours and made changes from the way the plots unfold in the novels. While these adaptations aren’t part of Dad’s and my stories, they are creative and entertaining. 

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In a wonderful tie-in to the series, Jessica Matten is the reader for Lost Birds, my newest novel.

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I hope that the televised Dark Winds will make viewers curious about the Hillerman books that inspired AMC’s producers to take on the project. I look forward to the second season with enthusiasm.