The arid winds of the Four Corners are howling again, carrying whispers of murder and long-buried sins as AMC’s critically acclaimed noir thriller Dark Winds gears up for its fourth season in 2026. On October 23, 2025, the network unveiled a chilling first-look teaser that plunges Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Sgt. Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) deeper into a labyrinth of betrayal, where every shadow conceals teeth and every revelation carves fresh wounds into the Navajo Nation’s soul. Premiering Sunday, February 15, 2026, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+, the eight-episode arc – renewed in March 2025 – amps the stakes with a “heavier atmosphere and harder twists,” per showrunner John Wirth, transforming the series from episodic mysteries into a serialized reckoning that fans are already dubbing “more addictive than True Detective and darker than Broadchurch.” As the teaser hints at a finale bombshell that “shatters everything,” Dark Winds cements its place as AMC’s crown jewel of Indigenous storytelling, blending Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels with unflinching cultural depth.

The 1:12 teaser, dropped via AMC’s YouTube and socials, opens on a blood-streaked canyon floor under a merciless moon, where Leaphorn kneels beside a ritualistic killing – a Navajo elder gutted like a sacrificial lamb, symbols etched in ochre on the rocks. “The desert doesn’t forget,” McClarnon’s gravelly voice intones, his face half-shadowed by a fedora as dust devils swirl. Chee bursts in, rifle drawn, his eyes wild: “This isn’t random – it’s a message.” Quick cuts pulse with dread: a shadowy figure in a coyote mask fleeing through slot canyons, a hidden ledger of uranium mine payoffs unearthed in a hogan, and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) interrogating a suspect whose whispers invoke “the old gods’ wrath.” The stakes escalate with personal barbs – Leaphorn’s daughter Emma (Deanna Allison) caught in the crossfire, Chee’s undercover stint in a corrupt trading post unraveling his marriage – culminating in a rain-lashed standoff where a bullet grazes Chee’s cheek, and Leaphorn snarls, “Truth’s a blade – and it’s coming for us all.” No full trailer yet, but the snippet, scored to a haunting Navajo chant remixed with electric guitar wails, teases a season “not of simple crime, but of reckoning,” as Wirth put it in a Deadline exclusive.

Filming wrapped in late summer 2025 after a six-month shoot in Santa Fe and Shiprock, New Mexico, capturing the Four Corners’ stark beauty – red rock mesas, juniper-scarred badlands, and the San Juan River’s deceptive calm. McClarnon, stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut on episode 4, infused the visuals with “Navajo eyes,” per cinematographer Allen Smith, using natural light to evoke the “heavy atmosphere” of Hillerman’s 1970s Southwest. “This season digs into the uranium legacy – the cancers, the cover-ups, the ghosts of white greed,” McClarnon told Variety during a set visit, nodding to real history like the Church Rock spill, the largest radioactive release in U.S. history. The plot, loosely drawn from Hillerman’s The Shape Shifter and Skeleton Man, centers a string of “ritual killings” tied to a long-dormant mining conspiracy, forcing Leaphorn and Chee to navigate tribal politics, FBI meddling, and personal demons. “Every clue cuts into the soul,” Wirth added, hinting at a finale “disturbing truth” – insider leaks suggest a betrayal from within the Navajo Tribal Police that “redefines everything,” echoing the series’ theme of fractured trust.

The core trio returns sharper than ever. McClarnon, 49, channels Leaphorn’s stoic fury with a vulnerability honed from Reservation Dogs and Fargo, his directorial eye adding layers to the elder cop’s grief over past losses. Gordon, 35, evolves Chee from reluctant shaman to hardened operative, his Lakota heritage (via his mother’s side) lending authenticity to the character’s cultural clashes. Matten, 35, as Manuelito, steps up as a co-lead, her rez-born intensity – drawn from her Anishinaabe roots – driving subplots on women’s roles in tribal law. Guest stars tease firepower: A Martinez reprises Chief Gordo Sena, while Jeri Ryan returns as the enigmatic Rosemary Vines, her corporate schemer now entangled in the mine scandal. New faces include Franka Potente as a German journalist digging uranium dirt, and Chaske Spencer as a haunted ex-miner with ties to Leaphorn’s youth. “The ensemble’s electric – it’s family with fangs,” Sánchez told TV Insider, his William Tsinigine adding bureaucratic bite.

Dark Winds, created by Graham Roland and executive produced by Robert Redford (in one of his final nods before his September 2025 passing) and George R.R. Martin, has been a slow-burn triumph since its June 2022 debut. Seasons 1 and 2 earned perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores, blending Hillerman’s cerebral puzzles with Indigenous perspectives rarely seen on TV. Season 3, wrapping in April 2025, boosted viewership 25% with its eight-episode expansion, hitting Netflix’s Top 10 for weeks via the AMC Collection. “It’s not just crime – it’s cultural reclamation,” McClarnon said at the 2025 Emmys, where the show snagged a nod for Outstanding Drama Series. Critics rave: The Hollywood Reporter called it “riveting,” praising the “complexities of Indigenous setting,” while Rolling Stone lauded McClarnon’s “riveting” lead as a “new sheriff in noir town.”

The 2026 slot – post-The Penguin and pre-The Madison – positions it for awards heat, with Paramount+ eyeing a binge model. Budget swelled to $8 million per episode, funding practical effects like explosive mine shafts and authentic Navajo ceremonies consulted by the Hillerman estate. “We’re honoring the books while pushing boundaries,” Wirth noted, teasing Chee’s “spiritual crisis” that “feels carved in stone.” Fan forums buzz with theories: Is the killer a government spook? Will Leaphorn confront his Vietnam ghosts? X’s #DarkWindsS4 exploded with 300,000 posts post-teaser, fans gushing, “Darker than Broadchurch – mercy!” amid comparisons to True Detective‘s brooding vibe.

For McClarnon, a Sicangu Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate descendant, the series is personal – a platform to spotlight Native stories after decades of typecasting. “Dark Winds isn’t entertainment; it’s reckoning,” he told NPR in 2024, crediting Redford’s vision for “seeing us whole.” As February nears, the desert beckons – a place where lies dissolve in blood, and truth emerges merciless. Season 4 isn’t just a return; it’s a roar from the shadows, proving Dark Winds’ winds blow stronger than ever.