Dark Winds Extends Rare TV Streak With Perfect Season 4 Debut

AMC's gritty crime drama maintains 100% Rotten Tomatoes score for fourth consecutive season.

Mar. 2, 2026 at 8:47pm

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AMC's critically acclaimed crime drama "Dark Winds" has extended one of television's rarest streaks, maintaining a perfect 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes for its fourth consecutive season. The show, based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman, has earned praise for its complex characters, powerful performances, and authentic portrayal of Navajo culture.

Why it matters

Achieving a perfect critics' score across an entire series' run is an extremely rare accomplishment in television. Most shows that reach 100% on Rotten Tomatoes only do so for one or two seasons, not consistently over four years. Dark Winds' ability to maintain this level of critical acclaim cements its status as a top-tier neo-Western crime drama and a must-see hidden gem in an overcrowded TV landscape.

The details

Set in 1971, Dark Winds follows Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) of the Tribal Police of the Navajo Nation and his deputy, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), as they work to solve a series of unrelated, increasingly violent crimes. In Season 4, the duo will investigate the disappearance of a Navajo teen, which takes them to Los Angeles and pits them against an obsessive killer and the city's organized crime underworld. The season will also explore the personal struggles of the lead characters, as Leaphorn considers retirement and Chee faces injury, stress, and a reckoning with his Navajo heritage.

  • Dark Winds premiered in 2022 and has since released a new season each year.
  • Season 4 debuted on March 1, 2026.

The players

Dark Winds

A critically acclaimed crime drama series created by Graham Roland and executive produced by George R.R. Martin and the late Robert Redford, based on the Leaphorn & Chee novel series by Tony Hillerman.

Zahn McClarnon

The lead actor who portrays Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn of the Tribal Police of the Navajo Nation.

Kiowa Gordon

The actor who plays Jim Chee, Leaphorn's deputy.

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What’s next

Fans can expect to see Season 4 of Dark Winds arrive on Netflix in the coming months, following the show's debut on AMC+.

The takeaway

Dark Winds' ability to maintain a perfect 100% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes for four consecutive seasons is a remarkable achievement in the television industry, cementing its status as a must-watch gritty crime drama and a hidden gem that deserves more attention.