Kiowa Gordon, Zahn McClarnon, and Jessica Matten Preview ‘Dark Winds’ [Interview]

The newest drama series heading to AMC and AMC+ is one that means a lot for Native American representation.

Set in 1971 on a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley, Dark Winds follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) of the Tribal Police and his new deputy, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) as they work to solve a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. The show is based on the iconic Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman.

We caught up with cast members Kiowa Gordon, Zahn McClarnon, and Jessica Matten on the red carpet during the ATX Television Festival to discuss the upcoming series. (You can watch the full video below.)

Zahn McClarnon began by saying he was most proud of the show’s Indigenous representation. “We’re in a unique time period, and we hope that Dark Winds opens those doors even a little bit more.” He added that this included representation of Native Americans both on screen as well as behind the scenes.

“Yeah, it’s super empowering for us to be doing this,” Gordon added.

“We got some really incredible native talent on the show too,” Matten said. “I’m really, really excited for everyone to see how talented some of these actors are.”

Watch the full interview with Kiowa Gordon, Zahn McClarnon, and Jessica Matten: 

I was also curious to know what each of the actors loved most about their individual characters. 

“I love that he’s very tenacious, and he’s very meticulous in the way he moves throughout the world. And he’s gonna get the job done one way or the other,” Gordon said of his character, Jim Chee.

McClarnon said what he loved most about Joe Leaphorn was his moral compass.

“He’s just a principled man, dealing with a lot of loss and tragedy in his life, and walking a fence between his culture and being a reservation cop. It was fun to play. It was fun to dive into the character. A lot of the heavy work was already done, through Tony Hillerman’s books, and it was just kind of nice to be able to jump into Tony’s character and put the clothes on and have a good time,” McClarnon said.

For Matten, playing a character like Bernadette, but set in the ’70s, is especially significant. 

“I just love that Bernadette is a character in the ’70s where we get to see a woman who’s pretty badass and strong, and yet wears her heart on her sleeve equally,” Matten said.

She added that it was fascinating for this time period specifically “because there wasn’t a lot of representation for women, in general, playing roles that powerful.”

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Dark Winds premieres Sunday, June 12th at AMC and AMC+. 

*Additional reporting by Cade Taylor.

Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here. There is still more to come!

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