‘Dark Winds’ is a crime drama thriller series based on Tony Hillerman’s ‘Leaphorn & Chee’ novel series. Zahn McClarnon, Noah Emmerich, and Kiowa Gordon star in the series. It follows the cases of two police officers named Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. The story is set in 1971 and revolves around two officers who are searching for evidence of seemingly unrelated crimes. On their way to salvation, the two men fight the powers of evil, each other, and their own personal demons together. Furthermore, the 1970s set against a variety of appropriate backdrops, such as the desert and arid areas, not only makes the tale appear realistic but also piques viewers’ interest in the actual locales where the psychological thriller series was filmed. Permit us to give the required facts to put an end to your curiosity if you have inquiries on the same. Dark Winds was shot in the following locations.
Dark Winds Season 1 Release Date: How to Stream Dark Winds From Anywhere Online
Dark Winds Locations for Filming
Filming will take place in Santa Fe, as well as Espaola, Cochiti Pueblo, Tesuque Pueblo, and the Navajo Nation. The New Mexico State Film Office that AMC is currently filming “Dark Winds,” the network’s newest show with a strong New Mexico connection. Principal photography for the first season of the series began in August 2021 and ended in November of that same year. George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford, both from New Mexico, are executive producing, while Chris Eyre is directing and executive producing the pilot.
Chris Eyre, one of the executive producers of the crime series, commended New Mexico and the Navajo Nation for their warm welcome. “We thank New Mexico and the Navajo Nation for welcoming us so graciously,” Chris Eyre said in the release. “There is no better community or location that could properly serve the authentic storytelling, look, and feel necessary for ‘Dark Winds.’ This was our first and only choice, and we’re overwhelmed with the abundance of phenomenal talent and crew we are able to work alongside here.”
New Mexico’s Santa Fe County
On August 23, 2021, filming began in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Many key scenes in ‘Dark Winds’ were shot in Santa Fe County, New Mexico‘s third-most populous county, which is home to the city of Santa Fe. The production crew sets up shop in Camel Rock Studios, which is the first Native American-owned studio in the world. It was a 1950s-era casino that was turned into the expansive studio that it is now, and it is located at 17486 US-84 in Santa Fe.
The studio’s backlot area includes more than 100 acres of undeveloped land with various scenic characteristics, in addition to a half-dozen standing sets. Some sequences were also shot in Tesuque Pueblo and Espaola by the cast and crew. The former is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in Santa Fe County, whilst the latter is a city with its central and eastern sections in Rio Arriba County but largely in Santa Fe County.
Navajo Nation, Kayenta
The series was filmed in Kayenta in mid-October, 2021. Given that the majority of the story takes place in the Navajo Nation, it’s only natural that the production team for ‘Dark Winds’ uses several locations within the Native American reservation. They apparently shot numerous key sequences for the first season at Kayenta, Arizona, a census-designated place in Navajo County. The Navajo Nation, sometimes known as Navajoland, encompasses parts of northwestern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, and southeastern Utah.
Utah’s San Juan County
The series was filmed in Mexican Hat, Monument Valley in mid-October, 2021. The southern section of San Juan County in Utah, including Mexican Hat and Monument Valley, was also documented for a substantial amount of the first season of ‘Dark Winds.’ The former is a census-designated place, whereas the latter is a Colorado Plateau region on the Utah-Arizona state line.
New Mexico’s Cochiti
The production team traveled to Cochiti, a census-designated place in Sandoval County, for filming. It is a historic district located a few miles southwest of Santa Fe and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because it is a historic district, it is a suitable site for filming a series set a few decades ago, such as ‘Dark Winds.’
