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Winds of Change

Netflix has the first two seasons of Dark Winds, a tribal police thriller/mystery series based on Tony Hillerman's novels, and I decided to watch it because the lead actor was Zahn McClarnon, who was one of my favorite actors from Longmire. It's also very unusual in that most of the cast are Native American. Both seasons have strong storylines. The screen writing is stellar, and I think the adaptation was very well done. I really liked season one, but season two was even better.

The show follows the lives of three Navajo cops: Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) and Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), who get caught up in complex crimes on the reservation (season one revolves around a bank truck heist, and season two around a bomber/serial killer.) Each actor brings something fresh to their roles, and the cultural authenticity they portray is undeniable and noteworthy. The entire cast does a wonderful job, too. I researched these people quite a bit for work back in the day, so I can vouch for that.

There's not much that gave me pause, but one of the characters in season one (Ada Growing Thunder) seemed to me a little over the top and implausible -- but maybe she is the real deal to the Navajo. Not my culture. I know at the end of season two I wanted to watch more, so that's probably the best rec I can give. The show was renewed for a third season, so hopefully we'll see it on Netflix next year.

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