Why Dark Winds Season 4 Was The Most Challenging To Adapt For TV Explained By Showrunner

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Dark Winds showrunner John Wirth reveals why season 4 was the most challenging yet to adapt.

The popular AMC series draws inspiration from Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels, starring Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee. Although there are 27 books in the series, the show’s first season primarily follows the story of Listening Woman. Season two is based on People of Darkness, season three combines Dance Hall of the Dead and The Sinister Pig, and season four adapts The Ghostway.

I was reading an interview with showrunner Chris Wirth over at ScreenRant, and it was really interesting to hear how they handled moving the story away from the Navajo Nation for a while – you know, bringing things to Los Angeles for The Ghostway arc. He said while he absolutely loves filming in that beautiful Southwest landscape, he specifically chose this book because he wanted to shake things up narratively. But adapting it wasn’t easy! Apparently, a big hurdle was that the character Leaphorn isn’t even in the original novel, so they had to figure out how to make that work.

Another big challenge was building a realistic 1970s Los Angeles. Because the current city didn’t quite look right for the time period, filming actually took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then, a lot of visual effects were used to change things like license plates, parking meters, and streetlights to match the 1972 setting. Despite being a difficult project, Wirth is very happy with how the season turned out. You can read more of his thoughts below.

I really love the unique setting of our show. You won’t find scenery like the Southwest Navajo Nation anywhere else on TV. While Breaking Bad filmed in Albuquerque and hinted at the area, we shoot much more on location, and the landscape itself feels like a central character in our story.

Each season, I aim to find a compelling story from the many possibilities we have. This time, for season four, I wanted to shake things up. While the core of the show—cops solving a crime—remains the same, I wanted to transport the audience to a fresh and unique setting. Since we already bring viewers to the Navajo Nation in the 1970s each season, the challenge was to create a story that felt distinct and new.

A significant portion of the ‘Ghostway’ story is set in Los Angeles, but adapting it presented challenges since the main character, Joe Leaphorn, isn’t originally in that book. We decided to include him and then faced the interesting task of recreating 1970s Los Angeles. I lived there during that era, but filming on location wasn’t financially feasible. We scouted Los Angeles hoping to find recognizable 1970s locations, but it was difficult to find anything that hadn’t changed. Ultimately, we decided to film in Albuquerque instead.

We initially hoped visual effects could fix some issues, but the project turned out to be far more complex than expected. It’s one of those situations where, looking back, I wish I’d known then what I know now! Thankfully, our post-production producer, Peter Chomsky, connected us with the amazing team at Crafty Apes. They meticulously went through every frame of footage, altering details like license plates, parking meters, and even street colors to accurately reflect the 1970s. We replaced everything that didn’t fit the period – signs, streetlights, the whole environment – and the result is incredibly realistic.

While watching the show, I kept thinking how convincingly it would transport viewers to Los Angeles in 1972. I knew some would be curious about the locations and how we achieved the look. We definitely created a somewhat idealized version of LA, but I think it turned out wonderfully, and I’m extremely pleased with the show’s visuals this season.

Many are celebrating the new season of the show, and critics clearly agree – it’s earned a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Sean Morrison of ScreenRant praised the season, calling it a “refreshing and great new installment” in their review of Dark Winds, and highlighted the Los Angeles scenes as a welcome change. Despite the significant effort to recreate 1972 Los Angeles, this positive reception proves the work paid off, maintaining the show’s perfect critical record on Rotten Tomatoes.

Joining Zahn McClarnon as Joe Leaphorn and Kiowa Gordon as Jim Chee, Jessica Matten completes the central trio of characters in Dark Winds. The show has already been renewed for a fifth season, meaning the stories of Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito—and the mysteries they solve—will continue. While it’s unclear which of Tony Hillerman’s books will inspire season five, the creative team has plenty of source material to choose from.

Dark Winds airs new episodes Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+.

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2026-02-15 20:09