What year does Dark Winds take place? Timeline explained

Dark Winds is an American psychological thriller series based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee novels set in 1978 and 1980. The show, created by Graham Roland, premiered on AMC and AMC+ on June 12, 2022. It has two seasons, each with six episodes. Both seasons received a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the first season averaging 8.1/10 from 36 reviews and the second season averaging 8.2/10 from 17 reviews.

The hype of Dark Winds continues as the show trends in the United States. It follows the lead actors Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, who work in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest during the 1970s.

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Dark Winds is set in New Mexico in the 1970s

Dark Winds takes viewers back to the early 1970s, a time filled with significant cultural changes. The show is mostly set in New Mexico and focuses on two Navajo police officers, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.

They are assigned to look into a series of crimes that don't seem connected at first, but as the story develops, things get complicated. The show is set in the desert, reflecting the loneliness and personal challenges faced by the characters.

Joe and Jim are burdened with sadness, and spiritual dilemmas, and feel the strong influence of their cultural background. While they work on their cases, they also deal with discovering themselves and contributing to the community.

Dark Winds combines regular detective work with deep cultural stories, providing a story that focuses as much on the personal growth of the characters as it does on catching criminals.

By setting the series in the 1970s, Dark Winds explores the social and political issues of that time, such as the conflicts between Native American communities and government officials. The show's dedication to being true to life, along with its examination of Native American beliefs and the challenges faced by its main characters, gives it a unique depth compared to usual crime shows.

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What books is Dark Winds based on?

The show is based on the books of the mystery writer Tony Hillerman who has written 14 detective novels as a part of the Leaphorn & Chee novel series. The first season of the show is based on the third novel in the series Listening Woman with some of the things taken up from the fourth novel People of Darkness.

Season 2 of the show is entirely based on People of Darkness, in which Jim Chee’s character is introduced. As the show continues with another season which is expected to release somewhere in 2025, it could look at times beyond the 1970s. Hillerman's 14 books, came out from the 1970s to the 2000s, with the last one, The Shape Shifter, published in 2006.

The Shape Shifter shows Hillerman's skill in mixing different periods, as it talks about the 21st century but also has memories of the Navajo Long Walk in the 1860s and events from the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s. This shows that the show could explore various periods, giving it many story options if it gets more seasons.

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Fans of the psychological thrillers can watch Dark Winds on AMC and Amazon Prime Video.