Is Dark Winds Based on a True Story?

Dark Winds has such a strong sense of place and a real, palpable level of authenticity. One could easily assume real events inspired it. But is Dark Winds based on a true story? Here’s the line between truth and fiction.

What Is Dark Winds Based On?

Despite the true-crime vibes that it oozes, no real-life events directly inspired Dark Winds. Instead, the show is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series written by the late Tony Hillerman. While he was alive, the author wrote 18 novels about the fictional characters Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, who are played in Dark Winds by actors Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon, respectively.

Dark Winds Season 1 derives its story mostly from Hillerman’s 1978 novel, Listening Women, the third installment in the author’s Leaphorn & Chee series. It also incorporates certain narrative elements from 1980’s People of Darkness. That novel, Hillerman’s follow-up to Listening Women, was later used as the blueprint for Dark Winds‘ second season. In addition to closely following the plots of Hillerman’s books, Dark Winds has also shot on location in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The Origins of Dark Winds

While Dark Winds isn’t based on a true story like some viewers may initially assume, its cultural authenticity isn’t an incidental feature—nor is it one unique to the TV series. Before he became an author, Hillerman worked as a journalist in Texas and New Mexico. During this time, he was based close to the Four Corners region, where he’d eventually set his Leaphorn & Chee novels. As a child, he also spent his early years in Oklahoma going to school with Native American members of the Potawatomi tribe.

These experiences greatly informed Hillerman’s writing. His Leaphorn & Chee books not only tell crime stories set in the same area where the author spent most of his adult life, but also do so from a distinctly Native American perspective. The authenticity present in Hillerman’s crime novels clearly inspired Dark Winds creator Graham Roland and his fellow collaborators. They have, in turn, strived to bring the same attention to detail and sensitivity to the AMC TV series that Hillerman did to its source material.

Based on viewers’ reactions to the show, it seems safe to say they’ve succeeded in doing just that. Roland and co.’s efforts to honor Hillerman’s books will no doubt continue in Dark Winds‘ third season as well. The highly anticipated season is projected to premiere on AMC and AMC+ sometime in early 2025.