“Dark Winds” is set in the early 1970s, and the new AMC drama series feels like a throwback, with its simple storytelling and measured pace.
But the reasonably entertaining six-episode show, which debuts June 12, may be more interesting behind the scenes.
According to an article in the Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Robert Redford acquired the rights to Tony Hillerman’s novels centered around Navajo tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee way back in 1986. Much more recently, the movie-industry giant recruited novelist George R.R. Martin — the mastermind behind the book series that spawned HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and a big Hillerman fan — to help finally bring the work to the screen.
Perhaps more noteworthy: A significant collection of talented folks with Native American roots helped make this show — both behind the camera and in front of it — from showrunner Graham Roland to star Zahn McClarnon, a part-Lakota actor who is a big reason “Dark Winds” holds your attention.
After showing us a heist of an armored car in Gallup, N.M., which concludes with the criminals escaping by helicopter, the Roland-scripted debut episode, “Monster Slayer,” introduces us to McClarnon’s Leaphorn.
Rated:TV-MA
When:Premieres 8 p.m. June 12
Network:AMC; streaming on AMC+
***½ (out of 5)
He is watching a man dig a hole.
“Put them back,” he instructs, the man below him then lowering several Native American cultural items into the earth. “If I catch you stealing artifacts again, the hole you’ll be digging will be a lot bigger.”
Leaphorn’s attention soon is drawn to the mysterious murder of an older man and a younger woman in a nearby motel room.
“Dark Winds” is boosted by appearances by Noel Emmerich as FBI Special Agent Whitover, who wants Leaphorn’s help cracking the case involving the armored car because the helicopter was spotted heading toward Navajo country.
“Dark Winds” is never edge-of-your-seat stuff, the series instead cooks at a satisfying simmer.
The arrival of “Dark Winds” is contributing to a moment for Native content on television, begun by FX on Hulu’s “Reservation Dogs” and Peacock’s enjoyable “Rutherford Falls.”