{"id":477473,"date":"2026-02-16T00:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/477473\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T00:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:23:10","slug":"redford-tribute-hope-for-joe-emma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/477473\/","title":{"rendered":"Redford Tribute, Hope for Joe & Emma?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cDark Winds<\/a>\u201d star Zahn McClarnon<\/a> gratefully accepts a black raspberry Italian ice in a blazing hot New Mexico parking lot. McClarnon, who plays Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn on the AMC+ series, is previewing for a visiting reporter what\u2019s in store for Season 4, which premieres Feb. 15.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe changed it up this season. It\u2019s gotten some more action, some deeper mysteries. We\u2019re trying to add some supernatural elements,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s early June and the late afternoon sun is still relentless on the asphalt in downtown Albuquerque, where basecamp is located for the day. It\u2019s even warmer if you\u2019ve just done several takes that involved chasing a ruthless assassin up and down stairs multiple times, as McClarnon just has. (\u201cI\u2019m glistening,\u2019\u201d he quips.) Fortunately, craft services has arranged for fruity ices as a pick-me-up.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe soul of \u201cDark Winds\u201d is the desert landscape of the Navajo Nation, but for Season 4, Leaphorn, Bernadette (Jessica Matten) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) make the drive to Hollywood to pursue a missing teenaged girl.<\/p>\n

\n\tToday, Albuquerque is doubling for L.A. circa 1972, and in the next scene on the schedule for Episode 6, Franka Potente<\/a> \u2014 the assassin in question \u2014 is on a downtown sidewalk talking to Leaphorn on a pay phone. Dressed ominously in brown combat garb with black leather gloves and a hunting knife strapped to her back, the German actress tries several takes as rush hour revs up. Extras sporting afros and \u201970s garb walk past Potente, while the crew battles noisy busses to grab a few seconds of footage.<\/p>\n

\n\tPotente guest-stars this season as the chilling killer Irene Vaggan, who is obsessed with Navajo culture and Leaphorn in particular, while Udo Kier<\/a>, who died in November<\/a>, makes one of his final appearances as her evil, yet fading grandfather Gunther.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFranka Potente as Irene Vaggan in Season 4 of \u201cDark Winds.\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael Moriatis\/AMC<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Season 3 brought a horror vibe to portraying Joe Leaphorn\u2019s moral and personal dilemmas, Season 4 has its own, almost David Lynchian, style. And this time, it\u2019s Chee who is having a spiritual \u2014 and physical \u2014 crisis.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s had a lot of unhealed trauma, and so that resurfaces because of this ghost sickness and it manifests in his body,\u201d says Gordon. \u201cHe\u2019s more whittled-down and vulnerable this season, and a little more raw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGordon enjoyed having a mini \u201cTwilight Saga: Breaking Dawn\u201d reunion this season, reuniting with fellow \u201cTwilight\u201d vet Chaske Spencer, who plays Sonny, a man who loses sight of Native values when he joins up with dangerous criminals in L.A. Gordon says working with Spencer again was \u201cThe most fun I\u2019ve had on a set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor everyone working on \u201cDark Winds,\u201d the importance of working on a team with so many Native actors, creatives and crew cannot be overstated. \u201cIt\u2019s everything to me,\u201d Gordon says. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy, so many people look up to this show because it\u2019s Indigenous-led. It means a lot, because I never thought I could do this growing up, but here I am. People come up to me and they\u2019re like \u2018hey man, we\u2019re proud of you, we\u2019re behind you.\u2019 It\u2019s touching.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat point is echoed by Matten, who plays Chee\u2019s on-and-off-again love interest Bernadette Manuelito. \u201cTo be a part of any production running this long is a gift, especially with the current climate of what\u2019s been happening in Hollywood \u2014 I feel like we really lucked out,\u201d says Matten, whose Indigenous Film & Arts Academy helps provide opportunities for young Native talent.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeason 4 revolves around the hunt for the teenager who ran away from boarding school, and Matten says Bernadette, who acted out when she was a student at the same school, sees a reflection of herself in the girl. \u201cThat\u2019s the driving force of why she feels the need to try and save this person, because she\u2019s essentially trying to save herself,\u201d says Matten.<\/p>\n

\n\tShe promises that Bernadette and Chee will continue to \u201cdo their dance\u201d of deciding whether to stay together and work together as tribal officers.<\/p>\n

\n\tCanadian-born Matten, whose mother has been involved in the movement for missing Indigenous women, values how much the show\u2019s producers are willing to listen to her experiences. \u201cThere\u2019s so much freedom and respect amongst our producers and writers and showrunners to have that conversation, to say, based on my experience, you guys should consider this. All ears are open to making it extremely collaborative and making sure it\u2019s authentic and truthful,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith four seasons in the can and another one already greenlit<\/a>, \u201cDark Winds,\u201d which premiered in 2022, has had an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Navajo culture for audiences around the world. Former museum director Manny Wheeler and his wife, English professor and Navajo language expert Jennifer Wheeler, joined as cultural consultants in the third season, and play an integral role in the way scenes are crafted.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis year we\u2019re in the writers\u2019 room, and we\u2019re giving them notes as they\u2019re developing the story, and it\u2019s just going much smoother,\u201d says Manny Wheeler.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast season, Episode 6 had a particularly intricate portrayal of the Navajo Hero Twin legend, and \u201cJennifer was there guiding the process,\u201d says Manny. \u201cEven to things that no one would ever think of, like the colors. There were these two dots that were on the boys\u2019 cheeks. And those boys represented the hero twins. Jennifer is like, \u2018You don\u2019t use that color, because those colors are used in a particular Navajo ceremony, that\u2019s something we don\u2019t want to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJennifer Wheeler, who led the way with her husband to have \u201cStar Wars\u201d dubbed into Navajo, often fields calls from the actors asking about line readings.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey all have their strengths in terms of the Navajo language, some take to it easier than others,\u201d says Manny Wheeler. None of the primary actors in the show are originally Navajo, he says, and \u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult language.\u201d Jennifer Wheeler also been instrumental in making sure hairstyles are accurate, her husband observes.<\/p>\n

\n\tJust as important as getting the language and hair right are the costumes and production design, and the show\u2019s base at Camel Rock Studios outside of Santa Fe, N.M., gives the series enough room to stockpile a fascinating archive of the time period.<\/p>\n

\n\tWalking into Camel Rock is like going back in time. The former casino, which is the only Native-owned movie studio<\/a> in the country, is packed with racks of Wrangler jeans, vintage police uniforms and colorful \u201970s housewares.<\/p>\n

\n\tAround the side, the former casino facade is now the front of Joe Leaphorn\u2019s workplace, the Kayenta tribal police station, complete with protruding wood beams. The show makes ample use of the large back lot, where the Navajo village seen in the series includes the diner, gas station, Jim Chee\u2019s and Bernadette\u2019s trailers and Leaphorn\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis season, production designer Guy Barnes and his wife, set decorator Wendy Ozols-Barnes, introduced new sets like Vaggan\u2019s bunker, which is layered with a fascinating collection of vintage weapons, oil painting supplies for Gunther and vinyl records. \u201cThis was built and dressed in less than two weeks,\u201d Guy Barnes says.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf her character, whom she calls a \u201ckilling machine,\u201d Potente says: \u201cShe has a lot of memorabilia, and the texture of her inner world is soft \u2014but also incredibly monstrous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tChee and Leaphorn interview boarding school students about the missing teen.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael Moriatis\/AMC<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother new set built at Camel Rock is the Los Angeles outpost of the Indian Health Service, where Emma (Deanna Allison) has transferred after deciding she wasn\u2019t able to live with Joe anymore. The medical office walls are lined with bright flower-power murals inspired by Marimekko designs, with breeze block in the background for a mid-century Californian look. Joe\u2019s trip to L.A. to look for the runaway girl could mean a chance to finally talk with Emma again \u2014\u00a0but will she want to see him?<\/p>\n

\n\tPropmaster Karma Harvey says in addition to sourcing from rentals and eBay, the production makes use of items from the collection of \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d crew member Mark Hansen \u2014 as long as his items look like they could be from the \u201870s. Harvey swears by her collection of Sears catalogs for dating specific props.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBefore every episode, we show what props are going to be used, it\u2019s called the show,\u201d Harvey says. \u201cThen you bag and tag all of the props and take photos, so my team knows exactly which are going to be used and what\u2019s been approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCostume designer Lahly Poore presides over a vast wardrobe collection, ranging from traditional Native clothing to everyday street wear to numerous types of law enforcement uniforms. \u201cMost of it is rented from Los Angeles,\u201d she says, \u201cand then we build more because we need so many multiples. Anytime anyone\u2019s shot or thrown off a ledge, we have to build those clothes. \u201cWe spend of a lot of this season in Los Angeles, so it\u2019s been really fun to do a more urban look,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tMost of \u201cDark Winds\u201d costumes are more subtle than the kooky looks one might expect in a period show. \u201cWe\u2019re not that far into the \u201870s, we\u2019ve got a lot of \u201860s going on. People keep their clothes; they\u2019re not always wearing brand new clothes,\u201d says Poore.<\/p>\n

\n\tMcClarnon, who grew up in the same era, confirms: \u201cWe\u2019ve got a really wonderful crew that nails the 1970s. Our wardrobe is really on point this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe costume department also works with cultural consultant Jennifer Wheeler to make sure traditional clothing is authentic. \u201cWe built beautiful velvet shirts for the women, and all of these broomstick skirts. You broomstick them and hang them out to dry in the hot New Mexico sun,\u201d Poore says.<\/p>\n

\n\tLikewise, a historic preservationist helps assess whether the production can shoot on parts of the Tesuque Pueblo, which surrounds the backlot, says \u201cDark Winds\u201d executive producer and director Chris Eyre. \u201cWe use every square inch of this space,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\tThough it\u2019s just a few minutes drive from downtown Santa Fe, the backlot stand in for Monument Valley, the striking part of the Navajo Nation where hundreds of famous Westerns were filmed. \u201cWe really did get lucky with all these rocks and formations of the landscape,\u201d says executive producer Tina Elmo. \u201cWe\u2019ll composite the more monumental spires in the background, Monument Valley type of looks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis season also serves as a tribute to executive producer Robert Redford, who died in September at the age of 89<\/a>. Redford, along with \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d author George R.R. Martin, got \u201cDark Winds\u201d off the ground after owning the rights to adapt the Tony Hillerman novels for four decades. The duo made an unexpected cameo appearance in Season 3, and it\u2019s not really a spoiler to say that the Season 4 premiere episode ends with a title card dedicated to Redford.<\/p>\n

\n\tShowrunner John Wirth says of Redford, \u201cHe championed the Hillerman books for 40 years before \u2018Dark Winds\u2019 made it to television and promoted Navajo and Native artists for every job on the show \u2013 from writers, to actors, to crew members top to bottom. He was truly one of one and his spirit continues to guide us every day on \u2018Dark Winds.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRedford\u2019s mission continues as \u201cDark Winds\u201d trains young Indigenous people to work in TV. The series has partnered with the Institute of American Indian Arts to provide internships in lighting, wardrobe, props and camera.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf I can walk away from the show after how ever many seasons we do, and know that is part of my legacy, that\u2019s awesome \u2014 getting Native people into this business,\u201d McClarnon says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDark Winds\u201d star Zahn McClarnon gratefully accepts a black raspberry Italian ice in a blazing hot New Mexico…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,179719,75,193577,348,136243,119706],"class_list":{"0":"post-477473","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-dark-winds","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-franka-potente","13":"tag-tv","14":"tag-udo-kier","15":"tag-zahn-mcclarnon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}