How Dark Winds Season 4 Improved Upon 42-Year-Old Leaphorn & Chee Novel With Major Change Explained By Star

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Dark Winds star Kiowa Gordon explains how season 4 improves on a 42-year-old novel.

The AMC show features Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, alongside Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Jessica Matten as Bernadette Manuelito. The series is based on the mystery novels by Tony Hillerman, specifically the Leaphorn & Chee books. Season four adapts The Ghostway, a novel originally published in 1984. Earlier seasons drew from The Listening Woman, People of Darkness, Dance Hall of the Dead, and The Sinister Pig.

In a recent interview with Tatiana Hullender from ScreenRant about the upcoming fourth season of Dark Winds, Zahn McClarnon (Gordon) explained how the show improves upon the source material, The Ghostway, by giving significant roles to characters Leaphorn and Bernadette, who aren’t featured in the original novel. He also shared insights into the future of the central characters in season five and his hopes to eventually adapt The Dark Wind, the book that inspired the series. You can find his full comments below.

That’s a great point. I was actually just discussing this. ‘Ghostway’ was a favorite of mine, and we managed to make it happen, which was fantastic. When John told me about the new direction, I was pleased. However, I didn’t want it to focus solely on my character and leave Joe and Bern out of the story. I agreed to it, but I was relieved to learn the whole team would be involved. That meant I wouldn’t have to carry the story alone, and we could still explore the dynamic between our three characters, something we haven’t done much of. It’s good to have that team element, even though it means we’ll be facing conflict together. I’m hoping season five allows everything to fall into place, so we can finally have a truly unified and cohesive team.

It would be great to explore that storyline, and I’m also interested in adapting the ‘Dark Wind’ novel, focusing on Chee being wrongly accused of drug-related offenses. That could be a turning point for his character – a moment where he starts to slip back into old patterns. It would be compelling to see him reconnect with his Navajo heritage and with Bernadette as a result. Alternatively, we could explore a darker path where he struggles with addiction, suggesting the cleansing ceremony wasn’t enough and he reverts to unhealthy coping mechanisms. He could battle with the internal conflict between his modern life and his Navajo identity, showing a real struggle for balance.

John Wirth, the showrunner, previously discussed with ScreenRant the difficulties of adapting “The Ghostway” for Dark Winds season 4. These included expanding the story beyond the original focus on Chee and accurately portraying 1970s Los Angeles. Despite some production hurdles, Wirth was pleased with the final result, a feeling echoed by Gordon, who believes the season successfully developed the connections between Chee, Leaphorn, and Bernadette.

Now that the show has been renewed for a fifth season—even before season four has begun—fans are wondering which book will be adapted next. The Dark Wind is a possibility, but it would require significant changes to the story, as it focuses on Chee rather than Leaphorn or Bernadette. The show has demonstrated its ability to make successful changes like these, and the creator already has ideas for how to integrate this story in a way that feels consistent with what viewers have seen so far.

Despite being four seasons in, Dark Winds seems to have a bright future thanks to its early renewal, perfect critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and strong viewership. However, as actor Zahn McClarnon told ScreenRant, the show won’t be able to adapt every detail from the books. Some aspects of Navajo culture are best left unexamined through television, but there’s still plenty of source material for future seasons to explore.

Dark Winds releases new episodes at 9:00 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+.

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2026-03-09 05:08