TV's Best Neo-Western Introduces Season 4's "Big Bad" in New 'Dark Winds' Teaser [Exclusive]

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Lt. Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) on horseback on 'Dark Winds' Season 4 Image via AMC

Published Feb 2, 2026, 9:00 AM EST

A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."

An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.

The Dark Winds are blowing in again. Season 4 of AMC's hit neo-Western thriller series is premiering this month, and Collider has an exclusive first look at a new teaser spotlighting Leaphorn and Chee's new adversaries, a lethal survivalist and an imprisoned crime boss played, respectively, by Franka Potente and Titus Welliver. The new eight-episode season premieres on Sunday, February 15, at 9.p.m. EST on AMC and AMC+; new episodes will debut weekly.

As the new spot opens, Navajo police officer Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) takes a call from his newest foe: Irene Vaggan (Potente, Run Lola Run), a merciless killer who'll go to any lengths to achieve her goals. She's entangled in their latest case: the disappearance of a young Navajo girl (Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Fancy Dance) who witnessed a brutal crime. The trail leads Leaphorn and his fellow officers, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) to the mean streets of 1970s Los Angeles. Now they're in a race against time and Vaggan to find her first, but it might already be too late: Vaggan's employer, imprisoned crime lord Dominic McNair (Welliver, Bosch), is confident that "You're never going to see that girl again." The new season will also see star McClarnon make his directorial debut.

What Happened on Season 3 of 'Dark Winds'?

Two young boys disappear, and the culprit appears to be the Ye'iitsoh, a monster from Navajo folklore. Leaphorn and Chee are on the case, and soon discover that the true monster is a crooked archaeologist trying to cover up his own ethical lapses. Meanwhile, Manuelito has left the Navajo police behind for a new job with the US Border Patrol; however, she ends up embroiled in a sinister conspiracy that leaves her literally buried alive before she brings the perpetrators to justice. While those wrongs are eventually righted, Leaphorn's own sins come back to haunt him, as his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison), discovered that he took it upon himself to avenge the death of their son; the two soon separated. Manuelito and Chee, meanwhile, finally acknowledged their long-simmering attraction and embarked on a romance.

Dark Winds is based on the late Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn and Chee series of mystery novels. Season 4 is adapted from his 1984 novel The Ghostway, although several changes have been made from the source material; neither Leaphorn nor Manuelito appear in the novel, and Potente's character is a man, Eric Vaggan.

Season 4 of Dark Winds premieres Sunday, February 15, at 9.p.m. EST on AMC and AMC+. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

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Release Date June 12, 2022

Network AMC

Directors Michael Nankin

Writers John Wirth, Steven Judd, Max Hurwitz, Rhiana Yazzie, Thomas Brady, DezBaa'
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